Matt Gutman, a longtime ABC News correspondent based in Los Angeles, is leaving the network for an important position at CBS News.
Gutman will be the first significant person hired on air Bari Weiss, who was named editor-in-chief of CBS News in October, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly. Gutman did not respond to requests for comment.
While Gutman was rumored to be being considered for an anchor position at CBS Evening News, he is said to be joining the network as a correspondent. CBS has not yet named a replacement for its evening news anchor following his planned departure. John Dickerson And Maurice Dubois later this month.
According to people familiar with the discussions, Gutman's contract was with ABC News, which did not contradict the CBS offer.
Gutman joined ABC News in 2008 as a radio correspondent. Since 2018, he has been the chief national television correspondent. He began his career at the Jerusalem Post, covering events in the West Bank.
Gutman has won journalism awards for his work on the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting and the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. He also reported extensively from Israel in the 18 months following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and covered the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January.
Gutman was suspended from ABC in early 2020. after he erroneously reported on air that all four of Kobe Bryant's daughters were on board the crash and killed an NBA icon and eight others. Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a crash in Calabasas.. There were no others on board.
Gutman apologized for the mistake and later explained it as a panic attack that occurred during the broadcast. In 2023, he wrote a book about how to overcome his long struggle with anxiety and panic attacks.
Gutman recently came under fire for his coverage of the investigation into the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. In an ABC News report, Gutman read texts between the alleged shooter Tyler Robinson and his transgender neighbor, describing the messages as “very touching, which we didn’t expect.”
The harsh reaction on social media to the comments prompted Gutman to apologize. “Yesterday I tried to highlight the stark contrast between this cold-blooded murder of Charlie Kirk – a man who dedicated his life to public dialogue – and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney at a press conference. I deeply regret that my words did not make that clearer.”
