Dana Jacobson was born on November 5, 1971, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and communications in 1993. After college, she worked as a weekend sports anchor, producer, and editor for WPBN/WTOM-TV in Traverse City, Michigan. She then moved to KXTV, an ABC-affiliate in Sacramento, where she worked as a reporter and, later, sports anchor. 

In 2002, Jacobson joined ESPN, where she spent a decade anchoring SportsCenter. She also co-hosted the debate show Cold Pizza, which evolved into First Take. Additionally, she reported on the NBA and covered the X Games. In 2013, she started working for CBS Sports Network as a studio host for college football and basketball coverage, later becoming a sideline reporter for the NCAA Tournament.

Jacobson joined CBS News full-time in 2015 and became co-anchor of CBS Saturday Morning in 2018 alongside Michelle Miller. The duo anchored the program for over seven years until their departure on November 22, 2025, amid a wave of layoffs tied to the Paramount Global restructuring. During her tenure on CBS Sports, she also served as a co-host and panelist of the all-female sports talk show, We Need to Talk.