Matt Gutman, a longtime ABC News correspondent based in Los Angeles, is leaving the network for a high-profile role at CBS News.
This will be Gutman’s first major on-air hire since he was appointed 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.
There has been speculation that Gutman is being considered for the CBS Evening News anchor position, but he is said to be joining the network as a correspondent. CBS has not yet named a replacement for the evening newscaster’s desk after his departure, which is expected to occur later this month.
Mr. Gutman’s contract will continue at ABC News, which did not compete with the offer from CBS, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Mr. Gutman joined ABC News in 2008 as a radio correspondent. He has been the national chief correspondent on the television side since 2018. His career began at the Jerusalem Post, where he covered the West Bank.
Gutman won the journalism award for his work on the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. He also reported extensively from Israel for 18 months after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, and also covered the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January.
After falsely reporting on air that all four of Kobe Bryant’s daughters and Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter were on board the crashed helicopter, no others were on board.
Gutman apologized for the mistake and later claimed that the mistake was due to a panic attack that occurred during the broadcast. He wrote a book in 2023 about overcoming his long battle with anxiety and panic attacks.
Gutman recently came under fire for his reporting on the investigation into the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. In an ABC News report, Gutman read texts between the suspect and his transgender roommate and said the messages were “very moving in a way we didn’t expect.”
Following harsh social media reaction to his comments, Gutmann apologized. “Yesterday, I sought to highlight the jarring contrast between this cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk, who dedicated his life to public dialogue, and the personal and disturbing passage read by the Utah County Attorney at a press conference. I deeply regret that my words did not make that clearer.”
