I wonder if this story is correct. If so it is a bit odd:
1. Odd that US magazine did not apologize to their readers.
2. Odd that they would apologize to the subject of their article if it was an honest mistake. An honest mistake means you should apologize to your reader. An apology to the person makes it sound like you meant to make them look bad on purpose. So odd that they would apolgize to Palin unless they just got caught.
At this point Sarah Palin is a private citizen. Not public official, not political candidate and the rules-of-engagement are much different when it comes to slander.
Suspect a lawyer contacted them and they “rethought” their actions.
That is no apology unless published in big print and where it cannot be missed.