BBC apologises for footage mistake following the death of Kobe Bryant

Photo credit: Matt Rourke/AP - Shutterstock
Photo credit: Matt Rourke/AP - Shutterstock

From Digital Spy

Following a rather confusing piece of coverage on the death of NBA icon Kobe Bryant, the BBC has issued an official apology.

Bryant, who played for the LA Lakers throughout his accolade-rife career, sadly passed away in a helicopter crash yesterday (January 26). He was one of nine people who died, including the helicopter's pilot and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images
Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images

Related: Paying tribute to the stars we've lost in 2020 - in memoriam

In the tribute broadcast as part of BBC News at Ten on the day of his death, some of the footage featured basketballer LeBron James, who recently surpassed Bryant's NBA record to become the third-highest scorer of all time.

Apologising for the mistake, newsreader Reeta Chakrabarti stated: "In our coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant, in one section of the report, we mistakenly showed pictures of another basketball player, LeBron James.

"We do apologise for the error."

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Soon after this, BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten editor Paul Royall wrote on Twitter: "In tonight's coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant on #BBCNewsTen we mistakenly used pictures of LeBron James in one section of the report.

"We apologise for this human error which fell below our usual standards on the programme."

At this sensitive time, social media users aren't feeling particularly forgiving over the error.

One tweet read: "Who cut this????? BBC news using footage of Lebron James instead of Kobe Bryant in their obit!!!!! IT EVEN SAYS JAMES ON HIS SHIRT [sic]."


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