ABC Offers to Settle Philip Morris Suit

ABC has offered to settle a $10-billion libel suit by Philip Morris Cos. with a statement in which the network would apologize for a program that questioned the tobacco giant’s handling of nicotine, sources familiar with the case said Thursday.

Network officials, apparently trying to avert a costly trial in Richmond, Va., that is set for October, recently sent the proposed apology to Philip Morris in hopes that the case can be settled shortly, the sources said.

An ABC apology in the bitter, highly publicized litigation would be a huge public relations victory for the nation’s largest tobacco firm at a time when the industry is under scrutiny by federal regulators and congressional critics.

The timing of a possible settlement remains unclear.

A number of journalists at ABC News are furious that the network would consider apologizing for the “Day One” program, which charged last year that tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, artificially “spike” their cigarettes with nicotine to hook smokers.