Media: What about the Duke LaCrosse team?

Clint Eastwood’s 'Richard Jewell' prompts apology from former CNN reporter: 'We in the media got it wrong'

The media rushed to condemn an innocent man based on misinformation from the FBI

 THEBLAZE STAFF

Former investigative journalist for CNN, Henry Schuster, penned an open letter of apology to Richard Jewell, the security guard who was falsely accused of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, and the inspiration for Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood's latest film by the same name.
As Schuster explained to The Washington Post, Jewell was initially hailed as a hero after he discovered the bomb and alerted law enforcement, which ultimately saved countless lives. But when the media, Schuster included, got wind that the FBI was investigating Jewell, they rushed to be the first to break the news that the bombing suspect had been found.
"The media had begun turning Jewell from a hero to a villain. Our wall-to-wall coverage was underway: We became the FBI's megaphone. There was no nuance in those first 48 hours," Schuster wrote.
"This was 1996, the dawn of the Internet age, so the process took some time. The Atlanta paper reported it, we ran it over and over as breaking news, and those thousands of reporters covering the Olympics had their lead," he added. "By the next day, Jewell was notorious worldwide. (Now, with social media, a reputation can be destroyed in nanoseconds.)"

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