Posted under mtv
By Lisa Chudnofsky
A long time ago, before I became the editor of MTV’s Remote Control blog, I did some honest-to-goodness real news reporting. I’m a bit rusty, but today I’m attempting to write seriously about a topic both newsworthy and personal to me.
It’s been 120 days since my old colleague from Channel One News and former MTV documentary producer Laura Ling (”Breaking It Down With Serena”) was detained at the North Korean border, along with fellow Current TV journalist Euna Lee. In that period of time, both women were arrested, tried and sentenced to 12 years of “hard labor” for illegally crossing the border and for committing a “grave crime.”
I simply can’t imagine the mental and physical toll this has taken on Laura and Euna, their families and close friends. The word from Laura’s sister, TV journalist Lisa Ling, is that an ulcer has been giving her trouble. Euna is also struggling with poor health, having already lost 15 pounds. Her 4-year-old daughter is in anguish, awaiting some type of communication.
There’s no way for any of us in the States to ensure that Laura and Euna are getting proper treatment — the most we can do is push and bug and press and shout about this story until something gives.
It’s been years since my stint as managing editor at ChannelOne.com, but dozens of ex-coworkers and I have banded together recently to spread the word about Laura and Euna and do whatever we can to help secure amnesty for them. We’re in good company, too. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the North Korean government to grant them a safe “return home to their families as soon as possible.”
Laura’s close friend of 15 years (and our old boss at Channel One), Morgan Wandell, sees this as “a positive step towards getting the girls free … We’re urging the North Koreans to show compassion towards Laura and Euna. They have been detained for close to four months and it is time for them to come home.”
I’m the first to admit that stories about tough global issues can be a true downer — I often prefer checking out with Chinese food and “The Real World: Cancun” instead of thinking about the horrible things going on around the world — so with great humility, I’m thanking you in advance for giving me your attention, checking out LauraAndEuna.com for more info, signing the petition to help free my fellow reporters and talking to other people about this terrible situation.