CNN Pressroom - Reza Sayah Joins Network as International Correspondent as Pakistan Nears Elections

Continuing its unprecedented expansion into international newsgathering, CNN Worldwide has appointed Reza Sayah as an international correspondent based in Pakistan, it was announced today by Parisa Khosravi, senior vice president of international newsgathering.

Sayah, an investigative reporter and anchor for WXYZ/Channel 7 in Detroit for the past six years, joins the network as Pakistan recovers from the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and eventually engages in a nationwide election for president.

“Our expansion of personnel in Pakistan is part of our ongoing plan to gather and provide more content for all of CNN, especially since Pakistan remains a very important story on the international scene,” Khosravi said. “Reza has a proven track record of solid reporting in the field and resourcefulness in getting to the critical elements of the story.”

Through his 12-year career, Sayah has covered a variety of high-profile national and international stories including Hurricane Katrina and the sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area.

Born in Iran, Sayah speaks English, Farsi and French and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Pepperdine University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. In addition to WXYZ, Sayah has worked at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Mo., WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pa., and WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va.

Sayah’s hire stands as one part of the biggest expansion of international newsgathering resources in CNN’s 27-year history. Other plans include the significant increase of correspondents worldwide, and major investments in a London-based digital-production unit, CNN’s International Newsource and CNN’s in-house wire operations.

CNN currently manages 29 international editorial operations and bureaus, which includes the opening of a new bureau and production center in the United Arab Emirates, the appointment of two new correspondents and operations in India and a correspondent in Japan. In the coming weeks, CNN will announce additional resources and correspondents in Africa.


CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.