ABC’s longtime newsman Brain Ross is parting ways with the network. The decision comes after a false report was made by Ross where he stated that Trump ordered General Michael Flynn to contact Russian officials.
According to The Daily Wire:
After 24 years with ABC News, Brian Ross announced on Monday that he’s parting ways with the network. The decision comes a little over six months after Ross falsely reported that Donald Trump ordered adviser Mike Flynn to contact Russian officials during the 2016 campaign — a claim that sent the stock market diving and left the Democrats’ salivating over the belief they’d finally got their evidence of “collusion” to take down Trump.
“After a great run of 24 years, we have decided to pack up and move on from ABC News, an organization that has meant so much to us,” Ross and longtime executive producer Rhonda Schwartz said in a statement Monday. “While we are signing off from ABC News, we are hardly leaving investigative journalism. There is much more to do.”
ABC News president James Goldston bid farewell to the pair in a memo to employees. “They’ve exposed government corruption at every level, international human rights abuses and fraud, uncovered dangerous working conditions, sexual abuse cover-ups and dishonest business practices,” said Goldston. “Their work has led repeatedly to real changes in policy in the U.S. and around the world. Over the years they have built a team of the best investigative journalists in our industry, and they leave behind an outstanding group that will continue to break stories for many years to come. … We wish them well in their next chapter.”
Despite Goldston’s high praise and optimism about Ross’ future, the investigative reporter will likely be most remembered for his infamous false report that has made just about every headline announcing his departure from the network. In its report on Ross parting ways with ABC, Page Six cites his “botched report on ousted White House national security adviser Flynn that reported President Trump directed Flynn to make contact with Russian officials.” Variety also cites the “erroneous Trump report” in their piece on Ross leaving ABC.
This is one of the more major consequences of a reporter being reprimanded for reporting the fake news. Hopefully, this serves as a lesson for these big-time journalists to check their sources.
