ABC News chief national correspondent Matt Gutman suspended for hospital visit

ABC News has suspended chief national correspondent Matt Gutman for visiting a hospital without the network’s approval, a violation of its COVID-19 policy, a network executive confirmed.

ABC News declined to comment, but according to a news department executive familiar with the situation, Gutman violated the network’s COVID-19 rules by entering the hospital without getting his supervisor’s approval. The network has a long-standing COVID-19-based policy that all hospital visits must be approved by the news department in advance.

The executive would not say what hospital Gutman was visiting, when the violation happened or how long he would be suspended. Gutman could not be reached for comment.

The suspension, originally reported by Deadline, is not Gutman’s first. In January last year, ABC News temporarily suspended him for incorrectly reporting that four of Kobe Bryant’s children were on the helicopter that crashed, killing the NBA star, Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.

Gutman is based in Los Angeles, according to his biography on the network’s website. His work airs on all of the network’s news shows and platforms including “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “20/20,” “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”