‘Very, Very Sad News’: Dax Tejera, Executive Producer of ABC This Week, Dies at Only 37
Photo via Dax Tejera on Instagram.
Dax Tejera, the executive producer of ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, died of a heart attack Friday evening, just a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday.
ABC News president Kim Godwin announced the news of Tejera’s passing “with a heavy heart and great sadness” in a message to network staff:
ABC News Family,
It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness that we share that our friend and colleague, Dax Tejera passed away suddenly of a heart attack last night.
As EP of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Dax’s energy, passion and love for that show, ABC News, and you, shined every Sunday morning. That same love was extended to his precious girls.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Veronica, the couple’s two young daughters, and the entire Tejera family.
If you need immediate support, please call our 24/7EAP support line.
We will share more details in the coming days.
On this Christmas Eve, hug your loved ones a little tighter. And please lean on each another.
#oneabcnews
Kim
“Some very, very sad news to report on Christmas Eve,” wrote TV Newser senior editor A.J. Katz, covering some of the impressive accomplishments in Tejera’s career despite his young age, including helping shepherd This Week to the number one spot among the advertiser-prized demographic of adults ages 25-54.
Tejera was named executive producer of This Week at the tender age of 35, just weeks before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the newscast quickly climbed to No. 1 among Adults 25-54. He joined ABC News as a senior producer in the Washington Bureau in 2017 producing remote-anchored broadcasts from across the country and specials from the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore and Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki. Prior to overseeing the Sunday show as executive producer, Tejera managed newsmaker interviews and covered major breaking news, including the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 presidential election and the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
In addition, Tejera worked on numerous broadcast and streaming special events for ABC News. In September 2021 he co-executive produced Corazón de América – Celebrating Hispanic Culture, a primetime special for ABC that honored the contributions and achievements of the more than 60 million people who claim Latino and Hispanic heritage in the United States. He also served as the executive producer for primetime streaming election specials leading up to the 2018 midterms and launched shows designed to expand ABC News’ streaming programming, including The Briefing Room, an instant analysis of notable moments in the White House press briefing room.
Before his tenure at ABC News, Tejera worked as an assignment editor and researcher at NBC News, as a producer at MSNBC, and as the executive producer of America with Jorge Ramos.
Tejera is survived by his wife, Veronica, and their two young daughters, Ella and Sofia.
News of his sudden passing was met with shock and grief by his colleagues at ABC and others in the media industry.
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