Chinh Doan is honored to be back in her home state and working for Tulsa’s #1 station!
She joined News On 6 in January 2020. You can see her anchor weekend evenings and report week days.
Chinh is a former refugee, foster child and the first in her family to graduate college. She is a passionate storyteller who hopes her personal story will inspire others to follow her motto of “work hard and be kind.”
Chinh was born in Vietnam and is fluent in Vietnamese. At the age of 4, she and her father, a former South Vietnamese officer and prisoner of war of nearly 10 years, received refugee status that allowed them to move to the United States. Her mother had to stay behind in Vietnam due to paperwork complications.
When Chinh and her father arrived in Oklahoma City, they did not know any English, but she quickly learned the language with the help of local news. One of Chinh’s father’s first jobs was as a janitor at The Oklahoman. Chinh would read the newspapers her father brought home, and they watched the news together every night.
Her proudest moments include becoming a naturalized citizen in 2008 and sponsoring her mother to America in 2012, reuniting their family after 18 years. Chinh was honored to be the speaker at her mother’s naturalization ceremony in 2018, exactly 10 years after Chinh became a U.S. citizen.
Chinh previously worked at KETV News Watch 7 in Omaha, Nebraska. For 6.5 years there, she worked every shift, including anchoring weekend morning and evening newscasts, as well as filling in as hostess of “Chronicle,” a 30-minute talk show. Some of her fondest memories include traveling with 650 Nebraska Vietnam veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the Vietnam Wall and sharing their stories from the trip.
Before braving the cold in Nebraska, Chinh reported at KWTX, the CBS affiliate, in Central Texas and enjoyed covering military matters from Fort Hood.
Chinh’s experience also includes two summer fellowships in New York at NBC’s Today and CBS News. She also enjoyed working on a documentary about WWII fighter pilots, reporting from the Academy Awards and interviewing Elizabeth Smart about her childhood abduction.
Chinh graduated as Student Council President from Putnam City High School and from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in journalism with minors in international area studies and Spanish. Chinh was named the “Outstanding Senior” of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She carried the college banner and gave a speech with her parents and foster family in attendance. Chinh was involved in Tri Delta, OU Nightly and other campus activities.
She finds extra joy in telling in-depth stories about children, veterans, refugees and immigrants, the incarcerated and others who may get overlooked.
Chinh has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, National Broadcasting Society, Hearst Journalism Awards Program, Broadcast Education Association and the Associated Press.
She was named in the 84th class of the Omaha Jaycees’ “Ten Outstanding Young Omahans” and went on to be honored in the JCI USA Class of 2017 “Top Outstanding Young Americans.” She was also honored with the “YCP Spirit Award,” an annual recognition by the Young Catholic Professionals (YCP)Omaha Chapter.
Chinh enjoys being involved in the community and frequently volunteers as a motivational speaker and mistress of ceremonies for events. She has graduated from Citizens Police Academy programs in Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma and is a member of Young Catholic Professionals and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
When Chinh isn’t working, caring for her elderly parents or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new foods, photography and traveling. She has been back to Vietnam eight times, traveled to more than 25 states and visited Poland, the Vatican, Italy, England, France, Wales, Peru and Japan.
Chinh loves connecting with the community and encourages you to say “Hello” if you see her out and about. You can email her at and follow her on social media: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.