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ABC News suspends correspondent over errant Kobe Bryant report

ABC News has suspended a national correspondent whose initial report on the death of former basketball player Kobe Bryant drew strong social media condemnation.

During a news broadcast on Sunday, correspondent Matt Gunman speculated all four of Bryant’s daughters were on board a helicopter that crashed into a hill in a Los Angeles suburb. Only one daughter was on board at the time of the fatal crash.  No other news outlet reported that all of Bryant’s daughters were on board the helicopter.

It was not immediately clear why Gutman reported the errant information or what led him to believe it might be accurate. After a flurry of social media criticism, Gutman acknowledged the mistake in a post on Twitter and issued an on-air correction.

On Wednesday, ABC News said it had suspended Gutman due to the mistake. The suspension was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

“Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism,” an ABC News spokesperson told the Times in a statement. “As he acknowledged on Sunday, Matt Gutman’s initial reporting was not accurate and failed to meet our editorial standards.”

Gutman, who acknowledged the error in a separate statement on Wednesday, is the second ABC News correspondent in two years to be suspended over an on-air gaffe. In 2017, investigative correspondent Brian Ross was suspended after he claimed President Donald Trump had directed former national security advisor Michael Flynn to contact Russian officials during the previous year’s election, the Times reported.

It was not immediately clear how long Gutman’s suspension would last.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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