One-time North Korean captive journalist Laura Ling is joining the E! network.
She will host "E! Investigates," a one-hour documentary series that examines controversial current events stories. New episodes of "E! Investigates" will premiere in December. In the debut episode, Ling will look at teen suicides and the lives of military wives.
Ling was previously vice president of the journalism department at Current TV, the cable channel partially owned by former Vice President Al Gore. A reporter for Current, she was arrested by North Korean border guards while reporting for the channel in March 2009. She was later freed after former President Clinton made a dramatic mission to Pyongyang.
In May 2010, Ling co-wrote a book about the North Korean ordeal with her sister Lisa. "Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home" was published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Current has had a rough time getting off the ground. In the five years since its launch in 2005, troubles at the upstart news channel have included a failed IPO and widespread layoffs.
