 Lang was educated at private schools including Nishimachi International School in Tokyo, Lauriston Girls' School in Melbourne, Dartington Hall School in Devon, England and the International School of Geneva.She first joined the BBC as a graduate trainee in 1986, having gained an MA in Journalism from City University, London following a degree in International Relations and an MSc in Government and Politics from the London School of Economics.In 1989 she became a Central European correspondent for the World Service and later a reporter on the BBC's "Newsnight".