TCA: ABC News' Sherwood on Brian Ross Error: 'We Put Something on the Air That We Did Not Know to Be True'

Ross has not been suspended as result of incorrectly linking Colorado shooting suspect to Tea Party

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/26/2012 1:19:37 PM

Complete Coverage: TCA Summer Press Tour 2012

Los Angeles - Despite the announcement 25 minutes before that Good Morning America had tied Today in the demo last week, ABC News president Ben Sherwood spent the majority of his session at the TCA press tour here Thursday apologizing and answering for Brian Ross' reporting last Friday that incorrectly linked Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes to the Tea Party.

"We put something on the air that we did not know to be true and the part of it that we knew to be true was not germane to the story that we were covering," Sherwood said. "We don't do that at ABC News. That was a violation of our standards."

Sherwood told a smaller group of reporters after the session that Ross has not been suspended or formally reprimanded as a result of the misreporting, though Sherwood said he had a "serious and stern conversation with him" and that Ross has personally apologized to the James Holmes in question.

"We've learned from it as an organization. We have very high standards and practices. We know that that particular moment did not live up to the standards and practices of ABC News," Sherwood said. "I take responsibility for it. The buck stops with me. The news division knows how displeased I am with it and we will do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again."

Sherwood said that his team is reviewing its procedures for reporting breaking news to improve internal communication about what is reportable, what is conformed and what is only for background in future situations.

He also defended two other disputed ABC News reports related to the Aurora massacre, saying ABC News stands by its producer's characterization of a conversation with Holmes' mother, in which she reportedly said "you've got the right person" when told of the allegations against her son. Holmes' mother has since made a statement saying the quote was mischracterized. Sherwood also defended its sourcing of a story that reported Holmes was spitting at jail guards -- a story that a Denver ABC affiliate disputes as incorrect -- and noted the ABC News online story includes an editor's note with the discrepancy.