According to a publisher who has seen the proposal and asked to remain anonymous, Ms. Ling, together with her sister, Lisa Ling, a special correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” is offering a book that will examine the meaning of sisterhood and journalistic ideals. The issue of Laura Ling’s captivity will be discussed, but in a larger context.Aigo! Now I'm sensitive to the idea that the media has been infantalizing Laura Ling and her fellow inmate at the Pyongyang Palazzo, Euna Lee, so I'm a bit loath to use the appropriate term for the these two. But even if it had been two male journalists who had been the ones in the middle of this publicity storm and trying to play it for all the coin and celebrity they could squeeze out of it, I would call those men media whores too.
Though I have been against a book deal from day one, I think it is grossly unfair for Euna Lee to be cut out of the picture (Mitch Koss cut tail and ran, avoiding capture, so he doesn't really deserve a book deal). Laura Ling and her co-conspirator sister have taken a situation of near criminal negligence and are turning it into maximum profit by cutting out a person who is just as deserving to earn money off it (which I find ethically questionable).
What does Lisa Ling have to do with this case? Can Laura Ling not write a book on her own? Is Lisa Ling's fame expected to enhance the book's sales? Its quality?
So Euna Lee, call me. I'm a Korea specialist and a published writer, so let's write a book where you probe the dire consequences of your own foolish acts (and those of Laura Ling and Mitch Koss) and then go from there to talk about the whole issue of North Korean refugees and the regime. Let's write the book that should be written, donate most or all of the profits to organizations that aid North Korean refugees or those who help resettle them, and upstage the Ling-Ling Pander Exhibit.
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I think Euna Lee is on the pretty side :) prettier than Laura
ReplyDeleteCan one not be prettier than Laura? She and her sister certainly aren't riding their looks.
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