did kathy scruggs apologize to richard jewell did kathy scruggs apologize to richard jewell
I am sorry, but it is not enough to say, law enforcement thinks. And they didnt even say that. Citing the paper that reported there was no evidence against Jewell, Brenner said, The New York Timesand its editor Joe Lelyveld knew better., King acknowledged that the Richard Jewell case was a turning point in a lot of newspaper discussions about where to draw the line when on identifying suspects. And I think those are good lessons to share with a movie-going audience, that there are people who are the subject of newspaper stories and of government investigations who look as guilty as Richard appeared to look in those initial stories but who ultimately are totally innocent and whose reputations are dragged through the mud for all the wrong reasons., Scruggs died in 2001 from a prescription drug overdose, due, in part, to a chronic back problem, still troubled by the repercussions of her Jewell reporting. Reporters Enraged Over Media Portrayal in 'Richard Jewell' When I'm not writing about pop culture, I can be found channeling Gordon Ramsay by kicking people out the kitchen. Always Marlboro Lights. Who is Craig Herrera? Theres even another agent in the story named Tubbs. The reporters outside his home would even yell and harass Bobi and Richard to try to get a reaction to catch on film. Did kathy scruggs apologize to richard jewell Those who were either directly involved in the incident or were dragged into the subsequent FBI investigation are featured in the show. The case wasnt dismissed until 2011, on the grounds that they were substantially true at the time they were published. None of the lawyers who pursued Scruggs get mentioned in the film. "Nothing in my research suggested she did so, and it was never my intention to suggest she had. It was like a vacuum, she said. Stream it here (opens in new tab). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Wilde seems to infer that Richard Jewells critics are basing their criticisms of the Kathy Scruggs character solely on the idea that the movie infers that Scruggs had sex with a source for a story (true, the film doesnt show the actual penis going in, but when two people say theyre going to have sex and leave for a hotel room its not much of a leap to assume that they did). The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed the Jewell case against the AJC in 2011. Manhunt: Deadly Games airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The story contributed to her stress and failing health. For example, Bryant finds out about the FBI investigating Jewell from seeing the newspaper on the stands, not from Nayda showing it to him (as shown in the film). Kathy Scruggs: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com Or at least, one FBI agent in particular fed her the story. I feel like we were struggling throughout to give more and more time to her story and to really help you understand her world and the toll that these events took on her life., Without enough time to spend with her story, she becomes a culprit. The Atlanta Journal-Constitutions decision to publish the storyimmediately recasting Jewell as a villain in the minds of millionswas so journalistically problematic and personally devastating to Jewell (and his mother, Bobi) that the case continues to be taught as a cautionary tale in journalism schools. Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen write: Witnesses repeatedly came forward to accuse [him] of twisting their words. In the movie, much of the blame for that seems to land on Kathy Scruggs, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). The Independent Mail is seeking a copy of the letter from Lavely & Singer, the California law firm that sent it on behalf of the AJC and the newspaper's parent corporation, Cox Enterprises. As well be discussing the plot of Richard Jewell, expect spoilers. Kiss said he is "just appalled" at the film's portrayal of Scruggs, whom he described as hardworking, fearless and a reporter who took pride"in getting the story right.". They deflect and distortopting to challenge one assertion in the movie rather than accepting their own role in destroying the life of a good man. At the time, the coroner said it could not be determined if the overdose was suicidal or accidental. As Martz told the New York Times: [Kathy] could be flirtatious, but she wouldnt have done that sort of thing, because she was very conscious of her role as a reporter and she wanted to be known as a top-notch reporter. 'Manhunt Deadly Games,' an American true-crime drama, will premiere its second season in the year 2020. Many journalists have strongly criticized the portrayal as perpetuating a pernicious and false stereotype that some female journalists trade sex for information, which U.S. news organizations. Once Scruggs got the scoop, she wrote up the story with her co-author, Ron Martz. Read More Nikki Battiste (CBS News) Net Worth, Age, Husband, Son, Wedding and ABCContinue. In addition to suffering from depression, she had a chronic back problem. It was just hard living," her brother told the AJC. Who is Julia Morales? Related: Eirianedd Munro (Adam Peaty Girlfriend) Bio, Age, Height, Family, Boyfriend, Son, Artist, Job, Net Worth. Kathy Scruggs reporter death: age, apology, wikipedia - Wothappen Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. "Her heart gave away. It haunted her until her last breath, her former colleague Tony Kiss told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a 2019 feature about her. How that actually played out is an interesting, quasi-Coen Brothers-esque story in itself. Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. His own FBI partner, Agent Thomas Dauenhauer, complained to higher-ups that [he] rarely, if ever, took out a notepad when interviewing witnesses and suspects, and would then craft his official reports from memory. Reading through [his] 302s, Dauenhauer would fume this is bullshit, and refuse to add his initials. The film also takes liberties with how information and events unfolded. Reporting what happened to Richard Jewell and his mother profoundly changed me as a reporter and caused me to rethink many of the assumptions and quick judgments we can all unwittingly make under deadline pressure without attempting to find out a larger truth that lurks behind breaking news, Brenner told Vanity Fair. Early buzz for Clint Eastwoods latest film indicates that both Paul Walter Hauser and Sam Rockwell have a fighting chance. An AJC piece by Jennifer Brett quotes Scruggs brother, and her co-author of the original piece identifying Jewell Ron Martz criticizing the filmmakers for never seeking their perspectives. It's so deeply wrong, yet they continue to do it. It might be a valuable discussion to have, whether Scruggs, Martz, and the AJC erred in running with the Jewell-as-prime-suspect story, even if it was well-sourced, true, and okayed before publication. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has taken issue withtheway that itsformer reporter Kathy Scruggs is depicted in "Richard Jewell," amovie about the 1996 Summer Olympics Bombing case. Its obvious to me they did not go to any great lengths to find out what the real characters were like., Both Gugino and the creators of the limited series obviously work to offer a bit more nuance with the character. Pronouns: she/her. Scruggs was 43 years old at the time of her death. Support stories like this by supporting local journalism. Scruggs' former friends and colleagues spoke about the journalist's legacy at The Journal-Constitution for an article in the newspaper titled "The Ballad of Kathy Scruggs." Richard Jewell is an Academy Awards nominated film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. Requiem for a Reporter: Kathy Scruggs - Atlanta Magazine Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Read More Craig Herrera FOX Weather Salary, Age, Husband, Leaving KING 5Continue, Your email address will not be published. He filed several lawsuits against media companies and others, like The Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC, and his former employer Piedmont College. To play this as Kathy Scruggs willingly burning her source and jeopardizing an investigation is unfair. That adjective haunted Richard Jewell long before he became known as the FBI's leading suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing on July 27, 1996. All of which again escapes mention in the film which its possible to come away from believing that Jewell was still basically the same sexless weirdo mamas boy that the media made him out to be in the nineties. When you reach the Richard Jewell ending, you feel a deeper understanding of him as a human and his friendship with lawyer Watson Bryant. Kathy had an elder brother called Lewis Scruggs Jr. who worked in the insurance business. That piece didnt name the individual leaker. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kathy did not personally apologize to Richard Jewell, However, the story haunted her until her death. Alex Johnson is a reporter and editor for NBC News based in Los Angeles. She struggled with chronic. Will Cain is one of the prominent journalists for CNN. Her choice of boyfriends was not great. While King was clear that Scruggs had never slept with sources, he told Vanity Fair that the reporter had in-house romances [at the paper] that caused us to have to say, You stay over here, you stay over there. That is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging.. Want to get a room or just go to my car? Scruggs asks after he reveals Jewells name. Days later, Scruggs was told by a trusted law-enforcement source that Jewell was also the FBIs foremost suspect. Read More Julia Morales (Astros) Husband, Daughter, Age, Height, Salary, Net worthContinue. Richard Jewell, an American security guard and a police officer got entangled in a web of investigation and media trial after he became a suspect in the investigation. As the film depicts it, Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde) finds out that Jewell is the FBIs primary suspect (which he probably never shouldve been) by sexually accosting an FBI agent played by Jon Hamm at a bar. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution then read the full text of the story to an FBI spokesperson before publication specifically to avoid jeopardizing the investigation. Someone saw him running from the scene and took down his license. She was never at peace as the story continued to get bigger and bigger with everyone crucifying Richard Jewel. "Shes no longer with us, she died very young, and I feel a certain responsibility to defend her legacy which has now been, I think unfairly, boiled down to one element of her personality, one inferred moment in the film. Jewells death is noted at the end. He really didnt know. Olivia Wilde as Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs in the movie "Richard Jewell." Warner Bros. "I am Kathy Scruggs' brother and only remaining member of our immediate family. Who is Ashley Willcott? Richard Jewell is one of the great movies currently available to stream on HBO Max. The man, Richard Jewell, went from being hailed a hero to the most hated villain when Kathy Scruggs, a journalist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, broke the news about Jewell being looked at as the main suspect by the FBI. That wouldve been a fun movie. Rolling Stones film critic Peter Travers wrote in his review, The attempt to slut-shame a reporter whos not around to defend herself stands as a black mark in a film that otherwise hews close to the proven facts of the case." The AJC has since gone so far as to retain an attorney, the infamous pitbull Marty Singer (known for representing John Travolta, Brett Ratner, and Bryan Singer during controversies, among others) and have demanded a disclaimer be added to the film. Kathy Scruggs' Death: How Did Kathy Scruggs Die? Scruggs, who was areporter atAtlanta Journal-Constitution at the time of the bombing, broke the story that Jewell was considered a suspect. It was the early 1980s when Scruggs arrived in Anderson to be an education reporter. 'Richard Jewell' focuses on the real victim, seeks to tell his story, confirm his innocence and restore his name. On Thursday, Ray defended the filmexplaining that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution seems to be pulling focus to one single minute in a movie thats 129 minutes long. Wilde also tweeted to respond to the controversy, saying,I do not believe Kathy traded sex for tips and it was never my intention to suggest she had. Ray and Brenner, among others, claim that the outsize focus on the Scruggs scene is a deliberate effort to deflect from the real story: the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions flawed, and destructive, reporting on Jewell. Even the AJCs house style, voice-of-God narration that stressed declarative sentences over attribution, news in bite-sized chunklets in an attempt to mimic USA Today, deserves some blame making Jewell fit the profile of the lone bomber sound like objective fact rather than the opinion of the FBI, who created said profile. And two, that it was accurate, said Alexander. Her soul was gone. ', there is no evidence that Scruggs slept with anyone. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. I come from a long line of journalists my moms been a journalist for 35 years theres no way I would want to suggest that.". ", It really, really bothered her. Y'all stay away from each other, if at all possible. Ya know?, Brenner never reported on rumors about Scruggss romantic life. Her father, Lewis "Bubber" Scruggs Sr., was a Gridiron Secret. In a statement, Warner Bros. called the AJC's claims in the letter "baseless" and said the film was based on "a wide range of highly credible source material," according to Variety magazine. He informed the FBI officials right away. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 1, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. The media as a whole certainly wasnt innocent in the case. Julia Morales is an American sportscaster as well as a pregame and post-game talk show star. The thing she was always proud of was the newspaper stood by her. Now a movie comes along 23 years later, a perfect chance for the AJC to atone for what they did to Richard and to admit to their misdeeds. Ad Choices. "She would announce herself. That FBI agent is identified by name in The Suspect, but, tellingly, not in the movie* (book spoilers in the footnote). In addition to Eastwood and the movie's production team, Olivia Wilde, the actor who played Scruggs in the movie, has also come under criticism. 'Richard Jewell' backlash leads Atlanta newspaper to demand disclaimer It crushed her like a june bug on the sidewalk.. Richard Jewell takes an interesting real-life character and flattens her into a lame trope of reporter-who-sleeps-with-sources, not to mention a woman who uses her sexuality to get what she wants and needs to be humbled and tamed. Most people within the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thought that everybody would get the story at the same time, that it would essentially be a tie, Kent Alexander, co-author of The Suspect told me. He expressed this all in a statement made upon confessing to the crimes. Oh, well, its not like he received a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court or anything. Marie Brenner, who wrote the Vanity Fair feature on which the film is based, hopes that Richard Jewell might impact audiences the way the story affected her in 1996. When Elisabeth Finch met Jennifer Beyer in 2019, the two women forged a fiercely loyal friendship, and eventually got married. Ashley Willcott is a former judge, trial lawyer, television anchor, and media consultant for lawyers child welfare influencer. In the movie, Richard is kind of portrayed like a bit of an outcast, mama's boy simpleton, but in real life, the article said he had an active social life, a complicated but loving relationship with his mother, and he was quite observant and smart. Its like, well, the names out there. Richard Jewell's lawyer agrees the movie smeared Atlanta newspaper reporter Richard Jewell was under FBI scrutiny for about three months before he was cleared. She would get upset when people were supposed to tell her something but wouldn't. The deputy attorney general called that morning, and said, essentially, Get that woman off the air. The film was written by Billy Ray and directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. While other outlets settled, the AJC didn't. Perhaps, but its hard to have that discussion when the movie unfairly paints one of the players in it as an unscrupulous news ghoul. On July 27, 1996, Jewell was working security at concerts going on in Centennial Park. Carla Gugino portrayed Kathys character. On July 30, 1996, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the FBI investigation of Jewell as the potential bomber. Wood went on to write that evidence showed Scruggs was dating an Atlanta police officer at the time of the investigation and that the newspaper independently confirmed with the FBI that Jewell was a leading suspect before publication. Tom Brokaw, who said the FBI probably had enough to convict Jewell but were just trying to collect all the evidence, does get a soundbite in the film. 111 people were still injured, and two people died: Alice Hawthorne and Melih Uzunyol, a Turkish cameraman who had a heart attack while trying to cover the event. But what I resented was this character being boiled down to one inferred scene and I dont hear anyone complaining about Jon Hamms character as being inferred that he also had a relationship with a reporter. Photo: Lionsgate. And what do they decide to do? She was once arrested drunk and naked, sitting in the drivers seat of a taxi outside a bar. This is very specific to female characters, weve seen it over and over again, and I think that Kathy Scruggs is an incredibly dynamic, nuanced, dogged, intrepid reporter. Dreams of implants Her former colleagues said she didn't cross ethical boundaries to land a story,as is suggested in "Richard Jewell," the movie thatincludes a portrayal of her as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). According to The Washington Post, Jewell stated that the lawsuits werent about the money --because most of it went to lawyer fees, taxes, and a new home for his mother-- but to ensure that the truth was told. Why is that anyones business? Brenner told Vanity Fair. Again, a chapter that goes unmentioned in the film. At the 2020 Television Critics Associaton winter press tour, creator/executive producer Andrew Sodroski said of the character, We portray her as a fully well-rounded character. Unfortunately, Scruggs can't come forward to defend herself, either: She died in 2001 at the age of 42from an overdose of prescription pain pills, according to Poytner. And I think that we spent more time with her [than the movie did], added director/executive producer Michael Dinner. In 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled for the newspaper, which had refused to negotiate a settlement of Jewell's lawsuit. He was caught in 2003 when a police officer saw him behind a dumpster searching for food. Kathy Scruggs was the colorful and controversial Atlanta Journal-Constitution news reporter who broke the story that the FBI was investigating hero security guard Richard Jewell in the 1996 . and Eastwood's direction. Why should Kathy Scruggs get named and shamed while the FBI agent who revealed the suspects name receives anonymity? Scruggs died in 2001 of a morphine overdose. Your email address will not be published. She was blamed for ruining Jewells life who was once considered a hero. I think [Grace] said that there was no presumption of innocence at this time because there wasnt a jury trial, and that was a head-shaker, Alexander says. She nonetheless gets the information, while fondling for his crotch. While there were a number of bad actors this includes journalists who did considerable damage to Richard Jewell's reputation, I've not seen where Kathy Scruggs' reporting went beyond the facts. If you couldnt f*ck it out of them, what makes you think you can f*ck it out of me? Hamms character asks her. And by the way, I will stand by every word and assertion in the script., Said Brenner, I was appalled by the reflexive snobberies and obliviousness of consequences that the AJC never addressed. That article headlined FBI Suspects Hero Guard May Have Planted Bomb set off a media firestorm around Jewell from which he never really recovered, even after being cleared of the crime. They had her back. When she died, she was facing possible jail time though eventually, the Journal-Constitution was cleared, with the Georgia Court of Appeals finding that the articles in their entirety were substantially true at the time they were published.. Read More Ashley Willcott Court Tv Husband, Age, Height, Salary, Net WorthContinue. Scruggs writes a story saying just that, which turns Jewell (and the implication of his guilt) into a global news event. The Sad End to Atlanta Bombing Reporter Kathy Scruggs' Life - Heavy.com A few days before Richard Jewells release, King was unsure whether he would see the film. "She did not have to sleep with anyone to get a story," Kiss said. Goads her bosses into rushing the story into print The trouble is, that character sounds a lot more interesting than what we get in Richard Jewell, a character we first meet when she storms into the AJC newsroom, wearing a gold necklace that says KATHY, flipping the bird to fellow reporters (theyre jealous, apparently) and telling a colleague that shes considering getting breast implants.
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