ABC News Staff Loses Patience With George Stephanopoulos After $15M Payout

When Brian Ross, the ABC News journalist, made a mistake while reporting on Russian involvement in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, he was quickly suspended by the network.

The veteran journalist was taken off the air for four weeks in 2017 without pay when he claimed that Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser would testify that his boss directed him to make contact with Russian officials during the race for the White House.

Ross, who left ABC just a few months later, is one of a number of correspondents who have been suspended for making false or biased statements.

David Wright, another journalist, was caught in a sting operation in February 2020 comparing Mr. Trump with a “nightmare spouse you can’t win an argument with”. He was quickly suspended and later reassigned from political coverage by the network.

That same year, ABC suspended Matt Gutman, their chief national correspondent, when he inaccurately reported that all four of Kobe Bryant’s children had died in the helicopter crash that killed the basketball player instead of one.

“People are fine with the big interviews going to David (Muir),” they added. “There’s no need to keep paying George that much money. Those days are over.”

Biden fork

Days before Ms. Harris reached the top of the Democratic ticket, George Stephanopoulos said on camera that he did not think Mr. Biden could serve another four years in the White House after his disastrous debate performance.

The gaffe frustrated many in the ABC newsroom, who believed he should have remained neutral on the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Stephanopoulos later admitted that he should not have performed the intervention.

In the past, the ABC has dealt uncompromisingly with journalists who make errors of inaccuracy or bias.

When Mr. Ross made his mistake and was suspended, the ABC issued a statement saying: “We deeply regret and deeply apologize for the serious error”, adding that the reporting “had not been fully investigated through our standard editorial process”.

But for Mr. For Stephanopoulos, a degree of stardom and the desire of executives to keep an anchor on the side, who was considering leaving for greener pastures in 2020, seems to have insulated him from the same high standards.

The next day, he was back on the air on “This Week,” where the libel settlement was not mentioned.

Plagued by the admission of misreporting

ABC held firm for months until its belated mea culpa, which, according to the Journal, its reporters see as an attempt by Disney to protect its corporate interests and access to the White House.

Some in the network are now concerned that Mr. Stephanopoulos has been tainted by his admission of misreporting the newly elected president’s decision on sexual assault.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some believe that means he carries “unnecessary reputational and legal baggage.”

At the same time, his stewardship of Good Morning America has seen its ratings fall behind NBC’s Today in the time slot.

Any other network that has trimmed the pay of its top talent, like CNN or NBC, would question whether Mr. Stephanopoulos — who makes millions of dollars and has cost millions more with the $15 million defamation settlement — is a luxury they can afford.

Judging by the deal he reportedly struck this month, this has not yet occurred to ABC.

ABC News has been contacted for comment.

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