Long before he became a familiar face on Bay Area television, Zak Sos was chasing breaking news up and down the East Coast — from a deadly train derailment outside New York City to the arrest of an alleged January 6th co-conspirator in AlaCoast—frombama. Today, he’s one of KTVU FOX 2’s go-to political reporters, known for covering everything from wildfires to City Hall controversies across San Francisco and Oakland.
Life Before the Bay Area
Zak Sos grew up in New York City, which is where his interest in news and storytelling first took root. He went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Goucher College in Maryland before heading overseas for graduate work, earning a postgraduate diploma from Cardiff University in Wales and a Master of Science in Media & Communications Regulation and Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
His broadcast career started behind the scenes, with early stints at Reuters TV in London, CNN, and NY1 in New York City, where he worked as a news writer and assignment editor learning the mechanics of a newsroom from the inside. He later moved into on-air reporting, working local news at News 12 in New York City and at WHNT News 19, the CBS affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama. It was during his time with News 19 that he covered the arrest of Lonnie Coffman, one of the first alleged co-conspirators charged in connection with the January 6th Capitol riot, after Coffman’s vehicle was found near the Capitol building loaded with Molotov cocktails. He also reported live from the ground during the devastating 2012 wildfires and floods that struck Colorado Springs.
Zak’s career wasn’t limited to the newsroom. Between reporting jobs, he also spent time in strategic communications, working as a senior communications specialist at Vail Resorts and as an account manager at the advertising and marketing firm Tier One Partners — experience that broadened his skill set beyond daily news gathering into media relations and content strategy.
Joining KTVU FOX 2
Zak joined KTVU in October 2021, stepping into the Bay Area’s competitive local news market with an already well-traveled reporting resume. He quickly built a reputation for covering political stories and breaking news across San Francisco and Oakland, and has become one of the station’s more visible reporters on Twitter/X, where he posts live updates under the handle @ZakSNews.
His KTVU coverage has spanned some of the region’s most significant recent news events. He reported extensively on the Covid-19 pandemic, interviewing many of the Bay Area’s leading health experts throughout the crisis. He covered the war in Ukraine from a local angle, including the story of a former Uber executive who left his job to fly overseas and volunteer with the Ukrainian army. Zak was on the ground live in San Francisco’s Union Square after looters ransacked the area’s high-end retailers, a story that pushed city leaders to reevaluate their policing strategy. He’s also covered the return of the city’s Chinese New Year parade following the pandemic, storms and power outages hitting the Bay Area, and the fallout after a local city councilmember was caught on camera appearing to make an obscene gesture during a public meeting.
More recently, Zak reported on the arrival of World Cup festivities in San Francisco, covering the Bay Area Host Committee’s official Culinary Kickoff party as the tournament made its way to North America.
Life Outside the Newsroom
Away from the camera, Zak describes himself as a “Big Apple born turned Oaklander” — a New York native who’s fully embraced Bay Area life. He’s an avid skier who spends winters looking for last-minute weekend trips up to Lake Tahoe, and he’s also a hiker who enjoys exploring the region’s trail systems. Self-described as a “politics junkie,” he’s made a point of working his way through the Bay Area’s famously diverse food scene one restaurant at a time.
Quick Facts
| Category | Deytail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Zak Sos |
| Based in | San Francisco / Oakland, California |
| Grew up in | New York City |
| Education | Goucher College (undergraduate); Cardiff University (postgraduate diploma); London School of Economics (MSc, Media & Communications Regulation and Policy) |
| Occupation | Political and general assignment reporter, KTVU FOX 2 |
| Joined KTVU | October 2021 |
| Previous stops | News 12 (NYC), WHNT News 19 (Huntsville, AL), CNN, NY1, Reuters TV (London) |
| Beat | Bay Area politics and breaking news |
FAQ
What station does Zak Sos work for? He’s a reporter at KTVU FOX 2, covering news across the San Francisco Bay Area, including Oakland and San Francisco.
What did Zak Sos cover before joining KTVU? Before the Bay Area, he reported for News 12 in New York City and WHNT News 19 in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked behind the scenes at CNN, NY1, and Reuters TV. He also covered the arrest of an alleged January 6th co-conspirator and the 2012 Colorado Springs wildfires and floods.
Where did Zak Sos go to school? He studied as an undergraduate at Goucher College in Maryland, then pursued graduate studies at Cardiff University in Wales and the London School of Economics.
When did Zak Sos join KTVU? He joined the station in October 2021.
A Reporter Built for Breaking News
Zak Sos’s path to Bay Area television ran through some of the biggest breaking news stories of the past decade — a deadly train crash, the January 6th investigation, and a stretch in strategic communications that gave him a different lens on the media industry entirely. Since arriving at KTVU in 2021, he’s carved out a niche covering Bay Area politics and fast-moving local stories, all while trying, by his own admission, to eat his way through every corner of the region’s food scene.
