Rehan Aslam named vice president, news director at WABC-TV
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Rehan Aslam has been named vice president and news director of ABC7/WABC-TV New York, effective May 3, 2021, announced Thursday by Chad Matthews, president and general manager, WABC-TV, to whom he will report.
Aslam will be responsible for directing the Eyewitness News team for ABC7, the No. 1 source for local news in New York and the most-watched station in the country.
"Rehan is a proven news executive with an impressive record of leading and modernizing news teams across multiple platforms at a time when the industry is changing at an extraordinary pace," Matthews said. "I have worked with Rehan in the past, and I'm confident he will continue to elevate Eyewitness News, deliver the highest quality in local news, and be committed to our inclusive and diverse culture."
Aslam exits his role as vice president of news at ABC-owned station ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston, where he also previously served as assistant news director.
"I remember the day I started my career in television, and the dream I had to work in New York City one day," he said. "When the opportunity became available to work at WABC, a station I admire tremendously, that dream became a reality. I am elated and humbled."
While in Houston, he navigated the newsroom through major events such as the most recent 2021 unprecedented ice freeze, the COVID-19 pandemic -- leading the team to move to a remote-only work environment -- and historical disasters such as Hurricane Harvey, where he led the team providing 24/7 news coverage across all ABC13's platforms for numerous days.
Aslam began his broadcasting career in 2001 at WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. His previous professional stints include producing the news at WJW-TV in Cleveland, becoming an executive producer at WFLD-TV in Chicago, and moving to Houston in 2014 to join ABC-owned KTRK-TV as assistant news director.
"It is a complete honor to lead the Eyewitness News team at the No. 1 station in the country as we continue to tell stories in an innovative way that is both solutions-driven and critical to the tri-state communities we serve," he said. "We will continue to modernize and exceed the expectations of our audiences. It has truly been a privilege to work with KTRK these past 6+ years. I will miss them, and Houston will always be in my heart."
Aslam is a founding member of ABC Owned Television Stations' Houston Belong Committee, a group that focuses on diversity and inclusion at the workplace. He is a proud South Asian/Pakistani American journalist passionate about diverse representation in a news department and believes that representation matters and increases awareness and understanding in the diverse communities that news stations serve.
Rehan is a 2009 Peabody Award Winner for his work on "The Derrion Albert Beating" story, and he is also the recipient of the 2019-2020 Houston Media Alliance News Director of the Year award.
Rehan is a native Northwestern Pennsylvanian and received a bachelor's degree in media communications at the University of Pittsburgh.
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