However, Jewell soon became a public villain when it was leaked that the FBI was investigating him (Jewell would quickly be cleared of all suspicion). Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The movie focuses on the security guard who was heralded for saving lives when a bomb went off in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park in 1996, but who later became a suspect in the bombing. And what do they decide to do? In December 2019, a biographical drama film Richard Jewel was released portraying the real life of Jewell. Author Robert Coram had a front-row seat to Scruggss dealings with law enforcement in the mid '90s. Says a prayer directly after the bombing not for the victims, but for the murderer to be interesting Craig Herrera is an American host and meteorologist at FOX Weather. 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. It all happened in 1996 when security guard Richard Jewell alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Richard Jewell is an interesting exploration of this fascinating case of a man wrongfully accused. Nearly 25 years later, Richard Jewell's mother angry over media, FBI 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. 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. Why should Kathy Scruggs get named and shamed while the FBI agent who revealed the suspects name receives anonymity? Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. In addition to suffering from depression, she had a chronic back problem. Wilde concluded her string of Twitter posts on Thursday by saying that Scruggs "unfortunately became a piece of the massive puzzle that was responsible for the brutal and unjust vilification of. Scoop in hand, she convinces her bosses to run with the story over their concerns. Who is Craig Herrera? After the interrogation, sometime later, Shaw and other FBI members hand Jewell and Bryant a letter that states they will no longer be investigating him as a suspect. 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.". Related: Eirianedd Munro (Adam Peaty Girlfriend) Bio, Age, Height, Family, Boyfriend, Son, Artist, Job, Net Worth. But ever since the film premiered at the AFI Fest in November, the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions editor-in-chief, Kevin Riley, has insisted that the filmwritten by Oscar-winning screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)gets integral facts wrong. "She was such a good and dedicated journalist," Kiss said. Read More Nikki Battiste (CBS News) Net Worth, Age, Husband, Son, Wedding and ABCContinue. Here's our special offer. Burns her source, breaking her promise to be off the record and jeopardizing an ongoing investigation. She was also known for a foul mouth, low-cut dresses, and general wildness. In Cherokee County, Georgia, Mrs. Scruggs has died. Longtime friend Lisa Griffin told the Journal-Constitution that she spoke with Scruggs on the phone shortly before she died. Ad Choices. The films depiction of her is not only wrong, but unnecessary. The movie actually does Scruggs worse than that. Nor does Nancy Grace, a then-assistant DA who said on television that Richard Jewell did not deserve the presumption of innocence. The Richard Jewell ControversyAnd the Complicated Truth About Kathy 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. Please consider becominga subscriber. The FBI Confirms Its Brett Kavanaugh Investigation Was a Total Sham. We did not.. How that actually played out is an interesting, quasi-Coen Brothers-esque story in itself. Richard Jewell was under FBI scrutiny for about three months before he was cleared. "She was upset, and she sort ofimplied tothe bar owner she could put him in the newspaper," Kiss said. Bryant also had help from other lawyers to clear Jewells name. She really always felt like they were supporting her.. Carla Gugino plays her in Manhunt: Deadly Games on CBS. Stream it here (opens in new tab). Kathy Scruggs, who was a very accomplished and very aggressive police reporter, had a motto: Im not in the business of being last. And she decided that she was going to be her usual aggressive self and made call after call to law enforcement sources. 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." "He called the paper, and the editor told her she needed to apologize. When you reach the Richard Jewell ending, you feel a deeper understanding of him as a human and his friendship with lawyer Watson Bryant. Want to get a room or just go to my car? Scruggs asks after he reveals Jewells name. The article which was headlined FBI Suspects Hero Guard May Have Planted Bomb made Jewell the talk of debate even after being cleared of the crime. 'Manhunt Deadly Games,' an American true-crime drama, will premiere its second season in the year 2020. (Ed: note: The sources name, according to The Suspect, was Don Johnson. Or at least, one FBI agent in particular fed her the story. The incident took place in Atlanta in 1996, during the Summer Olympics. We never made such a false & damning claim. Nichols, who resides and works in Toronto, has been a newsroom reporter, a field reporter, as well as an anchor for the CBC News Network, Read More Andrew Nichols CBC Salary, Age, Height, Wife, College, Net WorthContinue. The (Journal-Constitution's) claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend . By then, Scruggs had been dead for a decade. Kiss, who worked with Scruggs in Anderson and then later at the Asheville Citizen-Times in western North Carolina, is livid about the film's portrayal of his co-worker and one of his dearest friends. She works as a sports anchor and reporter for AT&T SportsNet Southwest and the sideline reporter for Houston Astros. ", Olivia Wilde as Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs in the movie 'Richard Jewell. 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. The police caught on to Rudolph when he did a bombing in Birmingham. Should they have known what the unprecedented 24-hour news cycle would do with Jewell? Scruggs' former reporting partner, Ron Martz, played by David Shae in the movie, said no one from the film contacted him. But she was always agood reporter with a tremendous work ethic, said Gouch and Kiss. Dreams of implants They compared him to noted mass murderer Wayne Williams. Shewas young and driven, according to those who knew her. When she went after a story she did what was necessary to get the story, within legal and ethical bounds., Her friend Susan Parke called her luminous, adding she was so, so alive. 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. Please consider becominga subscriber. In the 2019 Clint Eastwood film about the bombing, Scruggs was portrayed as having slept with sources for scoops, something the people who knew her took great umbrage with. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. Shestruggled with chronic health issues and had been on medical leavefrom the newspaper for about a year when she died, Kiss said. 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 . "Nothing in my research suggested she did so, and it was never my intention to suggest she had. New York, Its both incorrect and unfair, blaming her for things she didnt do and turning her into a less compelling character in the process. In a feature last month, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Scruggs was disturbed by a lawsuit naming the AJC. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution then read the full text of the story to an FBI spokesperson before publication specifically to avoid jeopardizing the investigation. 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. When youre a cop reporter, you have to be able to throw it and show itget in there with them and not take any shit off them. 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. It was Scruggs who first publicly. The Cautionary Tale of Richard Jewell: How a Hero Became a Media Victim It was like a vacuum, she said. Age, Height, Salary, Net Worth, PodcastContinue, Who is Andrew Nichols? The Vanity Fair article only briefly discusses Scruggs, and calls her an FBI "groupie. It also mentions her being kind of a tough journalist, but never demonizes her in the way the film does. People who knew her called her a true journalist. In 2020, Manhunt: Deadly Gameswas released following the hunt for Eric Rudolph, who was the perpetrator of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing after suspicion initially fell on security guard Richard Jewell.