Matt Gutman - Chief National Correspondent at ABC News
Full Episode: successstorypodcast.com/matt-gutman
Sunday, January 26, 2020. Matt Gutman was making pancakes for his kids, relishing a rare moment of calm after a whirlwind 30-day road trip.
Then the call came.
His boss, voice shaking, "We think a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and maybe his family just crashed in Calabasas."
Kobe Bryant. A legend. A hero. A patron saint of Los Angeles. Gone?
The overcast sky outside mirrored Matt's sinking heart.
Minutes later, he was racing to the scene. The panic was already setting in. Matt stumbled through their first special report, his mind a blank slate. It's a terrifying side effect of panic – the brain, laser-focused on survival, sacrifices memory.
And then it happened.
In that fog of fear, Matt mixed up a confirmed fact with an unconfirmed rumor. A horrific, irreversible mistake. The first time anything like that had ever happened on live TV.
--
Follow @scottdclary & @successstorypodcast.
#leadership #resilience #vulnerability #mentalhealth #media
