Timeline of bad information in first wave of Kobe Bryant story

Journalism did not have its best day Sunday.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, nine people were on a helicopter that crashed into the hills above Calabasas, Calif. Sunday morning. Among the deceased is former NBA star Kobe Bryant. According to the L.A. Times, NBA authorities have also confirmed his daughter Gianna, 13, was on board.

The news seemed to put anyone who’d ever heard of him into a state of shock. As has been the case for much of the past decade, people took to social media, many skeptical that this was just another internet hoax. As it became clear it was not, people began their search for answers.

Those answers, at least for the next hour, would not be easy to find. A collection of false reports, poor wording, and a collective news media playing catch-up only added to confusion, frustration, and an ultimate distrust in what was being reported.

Here’s a look at some key moments in Sunday’s coverage and how quickly the story evolved over a short period of time.

TMZ first reported the news that Kobe Bryant was in the crash at 11:32am PST, about 90 minutes after the call went out for a downed helicopter, according to L.A. County deputies.

BREAKING: Kobe Bryant Has Died In A Helicopter Crash https://t.co/42oINV9ZUU

— TMZ (@TMZ) January 26, 2020

This undoubtedly left other media scrambling to confirm this information. Most took a measured approach, as NBC News chose to do in their online coverage, sending out a tweet that they had not yet confirmed the names of any of the people on board 10 minutes after TMZ’s original tweet.

We are working to determine and confirm who was on board the helicopter.

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 26, 2020

Certainly, journalists at NBC News had seen TMZ’s report. By now, Kobe Bryant’s name was trending. However the organization had not, independently confirmed that detail.

Some time later, at 12:05pm, the Federal Aviation Administration’s news account tweeted some details of the crash, noting they were preliminary and subject to change. Among those details, they cited “local authorities” with the report that five people were on board.

Even before that, Matt Gutman, reporting live for ABC News breaking into coverage of the NFL’s Pro Bowl, seemed to be the source for a major detail, later proven false. “The fact that four of his children are believed to be on that helicopter with him – all daughters, one of them a newborn – is simply devastating,” Gutman said during his report.

About seven hours later, Gutman posted an apology on Twitter, accompanied by a video of an on-air correction. 

Today I inaccurately reported it was believed that four of Kobe Bryant’s children were on board that flight. That is incorrect. I apologize to Kobe’s family, friends and our viewers. pic.twitter.com/yYwuB9vpZl

— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) January 27, 2020

The damage was done. At that same minute – 11:10am PST – WPLG Local 10 News tweeted out the information to their 171,000+ Twitter followers, citing no source in the original tweet (only using the word “reportedly”). Most shared the information citing “ABC News.”

Some began to get skeptical. Melissa Luck, news director for Spokane, Wash. ABC affiliate KXLY TV, is also a veteran journalist, and sent out a warning to her followers.

“The news is about to start moving too fast,” she said on Twitter. “We know #Kobe was on board. Rumors are rampant about others. Watch for sources you know and trust.”

The news is about to start moving too fast. We know #Kobe was on board. Rumors are rampant about the others. Watch for sources you know and trust.

— Melissa Luck ☘ (@MelissaKXLY4) January 26, 2020

About the time those reports were circulating, another rumor began to gain steam. While the original source of the information is as yet unknown, some began to share that Rick Fox, former NBA player and teammate of Bryant’s, was also on the plane and died in the crash.

It was at that point skepticism seemed to be more widespread, with Twitter users realizing the numbers weren’t adding up.

“Kobe, Rick Fox, a pilot, and 4 daughters doesn’t equal 5 people,” said one person. “Someone(‘s) information is wrong.”

Kobe, Rick Fox, a pilot, and 4 daughters doesn’t equal 5 people. Someone information is wrong

— Nick (@Genesis_NLT) January 26, 2020

Within 25 minutes of the first reactions to the Rick Fox news, many had already begun to debunk the rumor, some pointing out that his Twitter account had been “liking” other tweets in the hour after the crash.

NBA reporters then began contacting their sources. Jared Greenberg, a host for NBA TV, said he had personally communicated with Fox via text.

I have personally communicated with Rick Fox via text since the news about Kobe dying came out PLEASE STOP spreading “news” unless you personally can confirm it!

— Jared Greenberg (@JaredSGreenberg) January 26, 2020

That was at 12:37pm. Five minutes later, ABC News was back in front of another report, this time that Bryant’s four daughters were not on the helicopter. This was reported by One America News Network anchor Jennifer Franco, who has 43,000 followers on Twitter.

#DEVELOPING: ABC News confirms Kobe Bryant’s 4 daughters were not onboard the helicopter that crashed in California earlier today.

— Jenn Franco KESQ (@jennfranconews) January 26, 2020

Just one minute after that, TMZ contradicted ABC News’ report, claiming Bryant was with at least one of his daughters, 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who had also died in the crash.

#BREAKING: Kobe's daughter Gianna Maria was also on board the helicopter and died in the crash https://t.co/oV7TIdpxmx

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) January 26, 2020

At this point, 71 minutes had passed since the original TMZ tweet reporting Bryant’s death. The amount of information that had come and gone in the cycle, true and false, was staggering.

At 12:56pm, NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowksi tweeted that Bryant was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter and others when the crash happened. At this point, it seemed, the information was coming at the public a little slower with more detail and more attribution. In a way, Wojnarowski’s tweet marked the end of that first wave in the rush to get information.

Sources: Kobe Bryant was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter Gianna when the helicopter crashed. Those aboard the helicopter also included another player and parent.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 26, 2020

More details would emerge, including the fact that nine people, not five, were on the helicopter. 

A lot has been made about the race to be first. To be sure, the news outlet to get the scoop on a breaking story will often get the majority of the shares on social media and, they hope, get the most eyes on live TV coverage. They want to include that in future coverage of an event: “You heard it first on XYZ TV.”

The problem, however, may be simpler than that. It’s not always that a reporter wants to get the story first. They just want to get the story. ABC News has reported a major detail – on live TV – in a nationally captivating news story. I imagine what followed were newsrooms across the country, national and local, wondering how to get that same information. A few held off on sharing that report before confirmation from an authority, which would never come.

I could only speculate the content in the conversations that were had in some of those newsrooms, but I know how it feels to be behind. It’s not necessarily that you didn’t get the story first, it’s that you *still* don’t have the information and you’re not sure where to get it.

Anymore, that’s as easy as a retweet. Toss a sentence like, “Whoa, this report says all of his daughters were on board” in a quote tweet and suddenly you’re among the reporting masses. Sure, the wildfire is already spreading, but now it’s climbing your hillside. And you lit the match.

It’s not hyperbole to say that many viewed the Bryant news, by nature, as unbelievable – a 41-year-old sports icon gone too soon. Sunday serves as a warning for all on social media, who have good reason to be skeptical. As for journalists, being right is so much more important than being first.

Hours later the dust has settled and now, it seems, news outlets all have the same information. Ultimately, did it matter who had what in which order?

As longtime CBS News journalist Scott Pelley once said, “If you’re first, no one will ever remember. If you’re wrong, no one will ever forget.”