Sarah Chakales
Reporter
Sarah joined 12 On Your Side as a General Assignment Reporter in October 2023. A native of Richmond, she is thrilled to be reporting in her hometown.
Sarah started her career writing, producing and reporting for digital at CNN International in Hong Kong. In her seven years there, she covered a wide range of stories from global business news to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement," the search for missing flight MH370, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the killing of Muammar Gaddafi in the Arab Spring uprising, which earned her a Peabody Award for CNN team coverage.
From Hong Kong, Sarah relocated to Miami and spent time at WFOR-CBS4. Her writing and reporting on the Pulse Nightclub shooting earned an Emmy for team breaking news coverage. After that, she joined Fox News Network and NBC Network News as a freelance field producer. She racked up a lot of air miles in those positions: covering hurricanes and tornados, the Parkland school shooting massacre, politics and more.
For NBC’s Today Show and Nightly News, she tracked python hunters in the Florida Everglades, cruised with Bonnie Tyler as she performed her hit single “Total Eclipse of the Heart” during a real total solar eclipse, spent time with Simone Biles in her Texas practice gym and sat in the courtroom for the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh.
Sarah has a broadcast journalism degree from The University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!) and a master’s degree in journalism from The University of Hong Kong.
She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and exploring Richmond. If you see her around, please say hello.
