The Media And Richard Jewell

Clint Eastwood’s latest movie initially drew rave reviews but in the end fizzled out of the gate at the box office after a sparring match took place between the film’s content and various media outlets.

It’s ironic because one of the main culprits the movie wanted to portray was the media, especially The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It remains to be seen how many, if any, Oscar and Golden Globe nominations the movie receives but that is not what the main issue is here.

No doubt any of us who lived in Georgia in 1996 know Jewell’s story. He was working as part of a security detail when he discovered a suspicious backpack during the Olympic Games. Jewell reported the discovery and was credited with saving several lives.

Immediately after the bombing Jewell was hailed the hero he truly was. However, the FBI began to look at Jewell as someone who may have planted the bomb in an attempt to seek fame and glory and a possible prime job in law enforcement. Federal law enforcement was also portrayed in a negative light in Eastwood’s new film for obvious reasons.

The news of Jewell suddenly being a suspect was front page news across the country (the world actually) and his life, as well as that of his mother, became a true living nightmare of which none of us can truly comprehend.

A now famous headline that appeared in our state’s largest newspaper declared he was a suspect. Of course as it turned out Jewell was not responsible for planting the bomb.

Yet even with the real bomber Eric Rudolph now serving a life sentence as a result of that crime (and others) it wouldn’t take too much effort to find someone who would tell you Jewell was the one who was really guilty.

Rudolph was an extreme anti-abortionist who had placed bombs at various clinics in his one-man crusade against doctors and medical personnel who performed legal abortions.

For Jewell, however, once a seed of that nature is planted in people’s mind it is often difficult to remove. His life was ruined. During the time he was a “suspect” every detail of his life, both professional and personal, became front page news and covered on local and cable news shows.

The spotlight was so bright that no one can really imagine what that was like. None of us would want that kind of scrutiny over every detail of our lives.

Jewell sued several media outlets and many settled. They didn’t admit guilt per say but rather than spend more money defending themselves they simply offered to settle.

The AJC was the exception as the paper said it did nothing to defame Jewell. The owners, publishers and editor said Jewell was a suspect and that is what they reported.

In huge stories of this nature the best defense is always the truth. However, many contend that the media’s portrayal of Jewell was so vicious that it led to an early death for the man who was only in his 40s when he passed away. Jewell also had medical issues but you cannot deny the stress he was under from this contributed to his early death.

Jewell, to his credit, rebuilt his life the best he could. He worked to get himself in better physical shape and worked for a time for the Jefferson Police Department.

Still his life was never the same. The money he did win in his lawsuits (estimated to be around $2 million total) clearly did not make up for what he had been through.

This story has always bothered me. As a member of the media I understand how getting something wrong can impact someone’s life. And while the AJC never said Jewell “did it” the details of his personal life were splashed for all to read. A man who was in reality a hero was portrayed as a pathetic loner who would do anything to live out a fantasy of being a cop.

The media can play a big role in shaping opinion on someone. It’s not just the Jewell case. Once a person forms an opinion it typically does not change despite future developments.

Eastwood’s movie drew criticism for implying that the AJC reporter who broke the story got her information in exchange for several favors. The reporter, who has also died, was strongly defended by her colleagues and editors who said she would never do that sort of thing.

The AJC wanted the movie distributor to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the film but it was not done. It should be noted that any film based on actual events is going to have some parts that are fictionalized. No film can be 100 percent accurate because even people who witness the same event are going to have differences in their version of what took place.

Controversy involving Eastwood’s films is nothing new and that goes for ones he has starred in and ones he has directed. Eastwood, who is almost 90 years old, received criticism for his films “American Sniper” and “J. Edgar.” His well-remembered Dirty Harry series of movies were not well received in some circles and the same can be said for his westerns, often deemed too violent.

Richard Jewell was a hero. That fact did eventually come to light but it was at a large price for him. In fact it was really the ultimate price he paid.

Make no mistake that Eastwood could care less about those who criticized his latest film. He wanted to put a hero’s light on Richard Jewell and from all indications he accomplished that. It’s just too bad he was not still here to see it.

Monticello native Chris Bridges has been a community newspaper journalist for three decades. He welcomes feedback from readers at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.