Sophia Choi (born March 5, 1971) is an American news broadcaster at
WSB-TV
WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia.
Biography
Sophia Choi was born in
Daegu,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. She moved to the U.S. at the age of seven, and attended Hollywood Elementary School in
Hollywood,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. After her father's death when she was 12, she moved to
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
where she attended
Briarcrest Baptist High School. She attended the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
in
Columbia, Missouri, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. During her college years, she worked at the University's television station
KOMU-TV
KOMU-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving the Columbia–Jefferson City market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station's studios and transmitter are located on US 63 southeast ...
, the NBC affiliate in Columbia,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. She also worked at the University's radio station,
KBIA
KBIA (91.3 FM), is a National Public Radio-member station in Columbia, Missouri. It carries regional news coverage, locally produced news shows, original talk shows, as well as NPR news programs including ''All Things Considered'' and ''Morning Ed ...
.
Professional career
Sophia Choi started her professional career at
WSET-TV
WSET-TV (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Roanoke–Lynchburg market. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and has studios on Langhorne Ro ...
, the ABC affiliate in Lynchburg, VA as a general assignment reporter. She next worked at
WVTM-TV
WVTM-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain, between Vulcan Trail and Valley V ...
, the NBC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama where she worked her way up from a general assignment reporter to the weekend morning anchor. While at NBC-13 in Birmingham, Choi was nominated for an Emmy Award for her special report called "Dirty Downloading."
Choi then worked at
KCBS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. She started as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor, but was promoted and became the weekday morning anchor. In 2001, Choi moved to Atlanta, GA to become a prime time anchor for
CNN Headline News. During her tenure at CNN Headline News, Choi anchored various newscasts on CNN Headline News,
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and
CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...
. She also covered various breaking news stories including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2006, Choi left CNN Headline News. She then traveled to Shanghai, China with the University of Missouri School of Journalism on a speaking tour. In 2007, Choi joined
KVBC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas. She co-anchored First News 3 at Four and News 3 at Six with Kendall Tenney until the end of 2009. In 2010, Choi began anchoring First News 3 at Four with Jeff Gillan and News 3 at Six with Jim Snyder. She also reported on crime trends in the Las Vegas Valley, through the Crime Tracker 3 franchise.
On May 28, 2010, Choi was notified by KVBC that her contract would not be renewed. With six months left on her contract, it effectively prohibited her from working at another Las Vegas-market TV station for 18 months.
Sophia Choi debuted on
WSB-TV
WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to ...
on July 8, 2011 with a report on Channel 2 Action News at 4. Effective January 1, 2013, she will be anchoring
WSB-TV
WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to ...
Saturday & Sunday AM and reporting during the week.
Movies & TV Shows
Choi has appeared as herself and a newscaster in several TV shows and movies. They include: ''
Primary Colors
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a br ...
'', ''The Torturer'', and ''
Special Unit 2
''Special Unit 2'' is an American sci-fi/comedy television series that aired on UPN for two seasons from April 11, 2001 through February 13, 2002. The series focused upon the exploits of a top-secret Chicago police division known as Special Unit ...
''. In 2003, Choi was chosen as one of seven Korean American "heroes" to serve as a marshal in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Choi was also named as the "Most Poised News Anchor" in a list of "100 favorite Asian American People, Places and Things."
Most Poised News Anchor
Goldsea.com
References
External links
MyNews3
MyNews3 >> Sophia Choi Bio
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Sophia
Living people
1971 births
American television reporters and correspondents
American women television journalists
American writers of Korean descent
CNN people
Television anchors from Atlanta
Television anchors from Birmingham, Alabama
Television anchors from Las Vegas
Television anchors from Los Angeles
Journalists from Alabama
Journalists from California
Journalists from Georgia (U.S. state)
Journalists from Missouri
Journalists from Las Vegas
Journalists from Virginia
South Korean emigrants to the United States
Missouri School of Journalism alumni
21st-century American women