ABC News has suspended chief national correspondent, Matt Gutman, for an inaccurate statement he made on-air Sunday following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant.
According to CNN, Gutman had erroneously reported on-air that all four of Bryant’s children were on board the helicopter with him that crashed on a hillside in Calabasas, California, on Sunday.
“Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business. “As he acknowledged on Sunday, Matt Gutman’s initial reporting was not accurate and failed to meet our editorial standards.”
Gutman had corrected the error and apologized for it on his Twitter. He then apologized in another statement to CNN.
“We are in the business of holding people accountable. And I hold myself accountable for a terrible mistake, which I deeply regret,” Gutman said Wednesday. “I want to personally apologize to the Bryant family for this wrenching loss and any additional anguish my report caused.”
ABC News has not shared the length of the suspension.
