Brian Ross (journalist)
Brian Elliot Ross (born October 23, 1948)[2] is an American investigative journalist who served as the Chief Investigative Correspondent for ABC News until 2018. He reported for ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, Nightline, Good Morning America, 20/20, and ABC News Radio. Ross joined ABC News in July 1994 and was fired in 2018.[3] His investigative reports have often covered government corruption. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News.
For other people named Brian Ross, see Brian Ross.
Brian Ross
Controversies[edit]
In October 2001, Ross twice falsely linked Iraq to the anthrax attacks in the United States. Both reports, based on anonymous "high level" sources, were denied by the George W. Bush administration.[64] In November 2001, Ross "updated" the story, acknowledging that original reports of bentonite in the anthrax samples were incorrect.[65] Glenn Greenwald severely criticized Ross for this reporting, opining that Ross unwittingly helped build support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a result of his high-profile report.[66][67] Dan Froomkin asked in an August 5, 2008 column, in The Washington Post: "So who told ABC the powder looked Iraqi?"[68] The New York Sun reported that Ross was the sixth journalist ordered by a federal judge to reveal his sources for federal anthrax attack stories.[69]
On January 14, 2004, a report by Ross, Chris Vlasto, and Rhonda Schwartz on the eve of the Iowa caucus linked presidential candidate Howard Dean to a trooper who worked for him when he was Vermont's governor and who had “‘engaged in acts of domestic violence’”.[70] ABC News was severely criticized by the Columbia Journalism Review for the report because the report presented no evidence to show that Dean was aware of the abuse when he wrote a character reference for the employee in a custody dispute. There was also evidence to suggest that Dean was unaware of the abuse at that time. The Columbia Journalism described the story as "little more than a smear."[71]
In 2006, Ross broadcast what he described as a "big scoop" asserting that an al-Qaeda terrorist with links to Bin Laden had been arrested in Pakistan. But the story was untrue. Matiur Rehman, the al-Qaeda explosives expert, was still a fugitive. The Pakistani government called the story "fictitious." ABC retracted the story.[72]
Ross and the ABC News Investigative Team were awarded the 2011 National Edward R. Murrow Award for “Video Continuing Coverage” for their exclusive investigation, “Taking On Toyota”, that revealed how the car company for years ignored complaints from hundreds of its owners about cars suddenly accelerating out of control. As a result, Toyota's market value and sales were driven down. However, Ross, as the correspondent, it was later disclosed, had staged the famous “death ride” in a Toyota set up to accelerate without driver input. Ross’ report featured a doctored shot of a tachometer suddenly racing to 6,000 rpm.[6][7][8][9]
During coverage of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting, Ross suggested on the air a connection between a member of a Colorado Tea Party group and the shooting, based on the gunman's name, without any confirmed evidence. Describing Ross as one of the most controversial reporters in television journalism, Dylan Byers reported that Ross had come "under attack again" for his reporting.[73][11][74] Conservative website PJ Media called for his firing.[75] Ross and ABC News President Ben Sherwood apologized for the comment.[11][76]
On December 2, 2017, Ross was given a four-week suspension without pay after erroneously stating during a special report that Michael Flynn was preparing to testify that Donald Trump had directed him to make contact with Russian officials during his presidential campaign.
Ross issued a clarification on World News Tonight later that same day, explaining that Flynn had not been told to make contact with Russian officials until after the election, and that Trump had only asked Flynn and other advisors to "find ways to repair relations with Russia" during his campaign. Ross issued a clarification on World News Tonight later that same day, explaining that Flynn had not been told to make contact with Russian officials until after the election, and that Trump had only asked Flynn and other advisors to "find ways to repair relations with Russia."
"During a live Special Report, ABC News reported that a confidant of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said Flynn was prepared to testify that then-candidate Donald Trump instructed him to contact Russian officials during the campaign," the network's correction stated. "That source later clarified that 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."
The incorrect report was criticized by conservative commentators, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 350 points after the report.[77][78][79][80]
In early 2018, after Ross served a four-week unpaid suspension, he returned as a chief investigative correspondent, but with a separate unit of ABC, Lincoln Square Productions.[81] However, in July, ABC announced Ross was leaving the network.[61]