Fourth Season of 'Vanguard' Premieres on Current TV With Special Episode Featuring Freed Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, Imprisoned in North Korea in 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The fourth season of Vanguard, Current TV's award-winning investigative documentary series, kicks off Wednesday, May 19th at 10 p.m. EDT / 7 p.m. PDT with "Captive in North Korea," a special 30-minute episode featuring Vanguard correspondent team Laura Ling and Euna Lee.  While on assignment in China for Current TV in 2009, the two were captured in China by North Korean soldiers minutes after crossing into North Korea and making it back on Chinese soil.  They were held against their will in North Korea for more than four months before being freed and returned to the United States last August.

The special features never-before-seen footage, letters, commentary and personal interviews with Ling, Lee and producer Mitch Koss, who managed to escape capture. Vanguard correspondents Adam Yamaguchi and Mariana Van Zeller take viewers behind the scenes to recount the harrowing story of Ling, Lee and Koss's ordeal and how they managed to communicate with their interned colleagues.  The episode also features video of the Vanguard team reuniting upon Ling's first visit to Current following the journalists' return to the U.S.

Current TV was thrown into the international spotlight in March 2009 when Vanguard journalists Laura Ling, Euna Lee, and Mitch Koss were on assignment to document human trafficking across the North Korea-China border.  Minutes after crossing into North Korea and back on to the China side, Ling and Lee were arrested.  They were later charged by the North Korean government for "hostile acts" and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.  After four and a half months in detention, the two were pardoned and sent home.

Laura Ling also is co-author of SOMEWHERE INSIDE: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home, coming from HarperCollins Publishers on May 18, 2010.

Vanguard Season Four

In addition to the premiere episode, the new season of Vanguard – winner of the 69th annual Peabody Award and recipient of the 2010 Television Academy Honor – continues to spotlight lesser-known global issues that have a larger social impact, with season four stories including "Missionaries of Hate," which investigates the rising influence of American evangelical groups on anti-gay laws and attitudes in Uganda; "Rape on the Reservation," which exposes a Native American reservation with an unusually high incidence of rape; and "Soccer's Lost Boys," a report on the increasing European demand for young West African soccer players which has spawned an underground industry of shady middlemen exploiting the dreams of young athletes.  Shows feature Vanguard correspondents Mariana Van Zeller, Kaj Larsen,  Christof Putzel and Adam Yamaguchi, who also serves as the series' executive producer.

About Current TV

Current TV is an award-winning media company committed to exploring the world's most important, interesting, and entertaining stories. With a fully integrated television and online platform, Current connects its audience with what's going on in their world through its blend of bold and unique original and acquired productions.

Current is now viewed in the U.S., U.K., Italy and Ireland in 70 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 358 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Verizon, AT&T, Bosky (channel 183), Virgin Media (channel 155) and Sky Italia (channel 130).

More information is available at www.current.com.

SOURCE Current TV