ABC News suspended veteran investigative reporter Brian Ross for four weeks without pay in 2017 after he broadcast a story containing a major factual error about President Trump and Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials. The high-profile disciplinary action came after Ross incorrectly reported that Trump had directed Flynn to make contact with Russia during the presidential campaign — a claim that, if true, would have significantly escalated the Russia investigation narrative.
The network quickly acknowledged what it called a “serious error” in Ross’s reporting, clarifying that Trump’s directive to Flynn actually came during the transition period after the election, not during the campaign as initially reported — a distinction with major implications for how the story would be interpreted.
“We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,” ABC News said in a statement. “The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process. As a result of our continued reporting over the next several hours ultimately we determined the information was wrong and we corrected the mistake on air and online.”
The network’s swift action — announcing Ross’s suspension “effective immediately” — underscored the high stakes involved with reporting on sensitive investigations in a politically charged environment. Ross, a veteran journalist with decades of experience, accepted the punishment without objection.
“My job is to hold people accountable and that’s why I agree with being held accountable myself,” Ross acknowledged after the suspension was announced.
What went wrong?
The error occurred during a live special report following Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI. Ross, citing a confidant of Flynn as his source, reported that Trump had instructed Flynn to contact Russian officials during the campaign. That explosive claim suggested potential collusion with Russia before the election, which would have been a bombshell revelation in the ongoing investigation.
But the source later “clarified” a crucial detail. According to ABC’s subsequent correction, “during the campaign, Trump assigned Flynn and a small circle of other senior advisers to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other hot spots. It was shortly after the election, that President-elect Trump directed Flynn to contact Russian officials on topics that included working jointly against ISIS.”
The timing distinction was critical. While directing a campaign adviser to contact Russian officials during an election campaign would raise serious questions about potential collusion, a president-elect directing his incoming national security adviser to contact foreign governments during a transition is relatively standard diplomatic practice.
The mistake wasn’t inconsequential. When Ross’s incorrect report aired, the stock market briefly plunged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 350 points before recovering later in the day.
Fallout and reflection
For ABC News, the incident highlighted the tension between breaking news and accuracy in an era of intense competition and heightened scrutiny of media. The network emphasized that maintaining audience trust was paramount, especially when covering politically sensitive topics.
Critics of mainstream media quickly seized on the error as evidence of bias against the Trump administration, while journalism ethics experts noted that while mistakes happen, the severity of this particular error warranted the serious consequences Ross faced.
Could more rigorous fact-checking have prevented the error? Almost certainly. ABC acknowledged that Ross’s reporting hadn’t gone through their full editorial standards process before airing — a reminder of the risks inherent in breaking news situations, particularly during live broadcasts.
For Ross, a journalist with numerous prestigious awards and decades of investigative reporting experience, the suspension marked a significant career setback, though he would eventually return to reporting for the network before departing in 2018.
The incident remains a stark reminder for newsrooms everywhere: in the rush to break news in politically charged environments, getting it right still matters more than getting it first.
