Following
an onslaught of criticism, ABC News has suspended chief investigative
correspondent Brian Ross for four weeks without pay after his erroneous
on-air report about Michael Flynn.
The
inaccurate report was widely picked up by other media outlets and
triggered a brief 350-point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average.
“We
deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,”
ABC News said in a statement Saturday. “The reporting conveyed by Brian
Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our
editorial standards process.”
“It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience,” the network added.
ABC
News issued the inaccurate “special report” on Friday. It appeared on
air shortly after the former national security adviser pleaded guilty to
lying to the FBI about contacting a Russian official and discussing
U.S. sanctions against Russia for its interference in the presidential
election. Ross, citing an anonymous source, reported Flynn was prepared
to testify that President Donald Trump told him to reach out to Russian officials during the presidential campaign.
ABC
News later clarified — then corrected — the story to say Trump had
instructed Flynn to contact Russian officials during the transition
after the presidential election, not during the campaign. Flynn was
reportedly told to discuss possibly working with Russia in Syria. Trump
instructed Flynn and other associates during the campaign only to
explore ways to “repair relations” with Russia and other regions,
according to ABC.
The distinction was critical since special counsel Robert Mueller is currently investigating possible collusion between the Trump team and Russia during the presidential campaign.
After
the report, ABC was slammed by conservatives charging “fake news” and
by a number of journalists for its tepid clarification rather than an
outright, more definitive correction.
Ross
tweeted following the announcement that his “job is to hold people
accountable” and that he should be held accountable as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment