Journalists

Photo Name
Talent Name
Lana Zak

October 2023

Lana Zak is an anchor for the CBS News Streaming Network, CBS News’ premier 24/7 anchored streaming news service, and a CBS National Correspondent. Zak is a multiple Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, Peabody, Frontpage, and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University awarded journalist.

At CBS, Zak has anchored major breaking news stories, including the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the results of the 2020 election. She regularly interviews key political decision makers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, and interior-secretary nominee Deb Haaland. Just before the runoff election in Georgia, then-Senate candidate Jon Ossoff pledged to Zak that no matter the outcome, he would “accept the election results.” And after the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, House Whip James Clyburn made headlines when he told Zak he believed the assault was an “inside job.”

Zak joined CBS News from ABC News where she was a member of the White House press corps. As a Washington correspondent she covered the Trump and Obama administrations, Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Zak reported from every battleground state leading up to the election.

Zak began her career as anchor producer for Diane Sawyer, rising to the position of coordinating producer for ABC News Special Units. Zak’s work has appeared on every platform including broadcast, radio, print and digital. While producing for Bob Woodruff, Zak became the first female in history to climb the barrels of the iconic George Washington Bridge.

A Fulbright and Truman Scholar, Zak holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism and mass communications from the University of Iowa, where she served as the student body president. Zak holds a master’s degree in public policy, with a concentration in international security and political economy, from Harvard University.

Zak has lived in Korea, Spain and the U.S. She has traveled to all seven continents, and lives in New York with her husband and their extremely curious twin daughters and son.