Time Apologizes To Jewell, Avoids Possible Legal Action

Time magazine expressed its regret about possible inaccuracies in its coverage of Richard Jewell, and the magazine said the onetime suspect in the Atlanta Olympics bombing has agreed not to sue.

The regret was expressed in a clarification published in the magazine’s Aug. 25 issue. No monetary payment was involved in the settlement, said Diana Pearson, a spokeswoman for Time, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.

Jewell, who was never charged with a crime, had not actually sued the magazine.

Time’s five-paragraph clarification acknowledges that some of the statements about him in two magazine stories “may have been inaccurate or incomplete.”

“We express our regret to Mr. Jewell,” the magazine said.

Jewell came under intense media scrutiny after law enforcement sources identified him to the media as a suspect in the bombing in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, which killed one person and injured 111. He was working as a security guard in the park at the time.

After nearly three months as a suspect, he was dropped from the government’s investigation.

The settlement is the third Jewell has reached with major media organizations he believes depicted him as probably guilty of the July 1996 bombing.

He previously settled with NBC - for a reported $500,000 - and with CNN (also owned by Time Warner) for an undisclosed sum.

He has libel suits pending against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the New York Post and Walt Disney Co.’s WABC-AM radio station in New York.