It wasn’t so much breaking news as a broken news process. ABC News suspended chief investigative reporter Brian Ross for four weeks without pay for errors in his report Friday that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was instructed to contact Russian officials by then-candidate Donald Trump during the campaign. The news organization, however, was forced to issue a correction when the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller claimed that Flynn was directed to contact Russian officials during the post-election transition period for diplomatic purposes.
“We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday. The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process,” ABC News said in a statement announcing the suspension.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
