Word is breaking on social media that abc13 KTRK assistant news director Rehan Aslam has been named the Walt Disney Television's new news director.
Aslam has been upped to the top news job after former news director, Wendy Granato, was promoted to the KTRK president and general manager position in early August.
Longtime GM Henry Florsheim retired from the news business after 22 years with channel 13 in July.
Aslam came to KTRK back in 2014 to be Granato's assistant news director.
He came from WFLD Chicago where he served as an executive producer for the FOX Television Station's 9pm newscast. According to his LinkedIn profile, Aslam started as a producer for WFLD in 2007. He worked in that role until 2010. From there he was named executive producer for “Good Day Chicago” in 2010.
He attended the University of Pittsburgh.
Congrats @AslamABC13! The next news director at @abc13houston! 🎉✨🦄🎈 pic.twitter.com/u6boDB5csA— Brandon De Hoyos (@BrandonABC13) September 6, 2019
UPDATE
Here is the press release KTRK sent me after the original post:
September 6, 2019
KTRK-TV announced today Rehan Aslam has been named the station’s Vice President, News Director overseeing Broadcast and Digital content.
“When Rehan joined KTRK 5 years ago as Assistant News Director, I knew we had found the kind of leader who believes in total motivation and achieving excellence by lifting people up, not tearing them down.” said Wendy Granato, KTRK President &
General Manager. “ Rehan leads teams by listening, including, and settling for nothing less than our very best. Rehan also knows what it means to be a fighter. How to fight to stay on top. Fighting to find ways to do things better. Fighting to serve our diverse
audience and community. I am confident that Rehan’s plans for the future will help us solidify our place as Houston’s News Leader and I look forward to this great new era at ABC/13."
Rehan began his television news career in Cleveland, Ohio, working at both WJW Fox 8 and WEWS as a producer. Rehan was also Executive Producer at Fox 32/WFLD in Chicago before moving to Houston in 2014 to join KTRK as Assistant News Director.
“Houston is home and KTRK ABC13 is the city’s news leader. I am so honored for this new role and responsibility. I am very excited to work alongside my colleagues in one of the country’s top newsrooms. We will continue seeking and creating innovative ways to serve Houston’s diverse communities with content on all of our platforms. We have a responsibility to provide stories that are relevant and meaningful, while also providing information that keeps our viewers safe. I am very excited for the direction we are going and what we collectively will come up with next.”
Rehan is a member of the Disney Owned Television Station’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is a 2009 Peabody Award winner for his work on the Derrion Albert story in Chicago.
A native of Northwest Pennsylvania, Rehan and his wife Sadaf are the proud parents of 7 year old son, Rafae. In his spare time, Rehan loves golfing and spending time with his family and friends. Rehan is also a diehard Marvel movie fan and is counting down the days until the launch of Disney+.
