Journalist

Freed Journalists Return Home – Pictures

Here is the moving moment when Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reunited with their families at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling walked off the plane to an emotional reunion with their family members. A crying Lee hugged her 4-year-old daughter and husband as Ling shared an embrace with her husband, parents and sister Lisa Ling.

The two journalists had been held prisoner in North Korea since March after reporting from the border of North Korea and China, in June they were sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison for illegal entry into North Korea, and unspecified hostile acts.

Both of the reporters work for Al Gore‘s media company, Current TV. Speaking during a press conference, Ling said:

“We feared at any moment that we could be sent to a hard labor camp and then suddenly we were told we were going to a meeting, we were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton. We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives, we are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home.”

Clinton himself spoke on the matter saying, “I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones. When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home.”

President Obama also spoke of his happiness, “We are very pleased with the outcome, their release is a source of happiness not only for the families but for the entire country, I think that not only is this White House … extraordinarily happy, but all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work.”

I love happy news.

[Click thumbnails for a larger view]

Popularity: unranked [?]

Discussion (1)

Tags | Gossip Bill Clinton, Euna Lee, Journalist, Laura Ling, Pictures

| Permalink | Send TrackBack

Allie Is Wired! linked with Allie’s Wired HOT Links - #250

CBS Journalist Walter Cronkite Gravely Ill

Allie @ Gone Hollywood

Legendary CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, 92, long known as the “Most Trusted Man in America,” is gravely ill, according to multiple CBS News sources and published reports.

According to Mediabistro’s blog, TVNewser, the network began updating his obituary more than a week ago; a CBS News executive had no comment to TVNewser on the reports of Cronkite’s failing health.

One of the most recognized and honored journalists in America, Walter Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News” for 19 years, when he was replaced by Dan Rather.

Cronkite remained a special correspondent for the network through the years.

The St. Joseph, Mo., native got his start as a battlefield correspondent during World War II for the United Press. In 1950 he came to CBS radio as a Washington correspondent.

Cronkite jumped into the fledgling TV news world in 1962 when he was named anchor of the 15-minute “CBS Evening News,” which became the first 30-minute network newscast the following year with Cronkite at the anchor desk.

From the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to publicly questioning U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War to the landing of the first man on the moon, Cronkite was known for a tell-it-like-it-is reporting style that was often tinged with genuine emotion.

Thought of as the dean of broadcast journalism, Cronkite’s style has long been the hallmark of television reporting. A journalism school at Arizona State University was named for him, and a number of industry awards are in his name, too.

In addition to leading the “Evening News” to perpetual first-place ratings, Cronkite gave the country one of the best-known catchphrases in TV history with his nightly sign-off, “And that’s the way it is…”

TVNewser quotes Cronkite speaking on his own mortality from a 2006 interview:

“When you get to be 89, you have to think about it a little bit. It doesn’t prey on me, and it doesn’t keep me awake nights. Occasionally, when I’m upset about something else, I think, ‘My gosh, I don’t know if I should do this or that because I’m not sure I’ll be here that long to enjoy it.’”

source: Legendary CBS journalist Walter Cronkite reportedly gravely ill [chicago sun times]

Popularity: unranked [?]

Discussion (0)