I believe the two main issues that impacted me the most was the fact that Steven Glass had this amazing ability to lie, and cover up his lies with more lies. The second issues that impacted me were the fact that he was willing to put everything on the line for one great story. I think at some point I would have gave up the lies. It’s just like I can’t imagine lying to everyone I am around and almost for no reason. The fear of getting caught is probably enough to discourage me on making things, events and people up.

Steven Glass did this horrible act because he felt like there was no other way for him to keep up with himself, as far as his stories and them getting better and better. Glass felt like his back was against the wall. Author Gal Beckerman said, “That the result is a not-so-unsympathetic portrait of a desperate and imaginative striver who fails because he tries too hard to succeed” (Beckerman, 2003). The ethical issues at stake are that you can go to jail for something like this, lose your job and have to change your profession is a huge issue. Another ethical issue Glass faced is where or not to give up after he basically was caught up in all his lies. Instead of that, he ended up trying to cover up those lies, and making new lies and imaginary things.

I believe that there are a few journalistic values and principles that are in play. The first being, you want your story to be the best, and I believe that is what drove Glass into doing what he did. He had gotten used to his stories being the best and that is where things got out of hand for him. Beckerman said, “Glass went into a kind of liar’s overdrive (Beckerman, 2003).” For me that said it all, because when you strive too hard for something, bad things can happen in result.

Another journalistic value that comes into play is the fact that all a journalist has is their word. When a reader picks up an article and decides to read it, they trust that author. However when and if a author is lying, all his credibility is out the window. Everything that Glass had done in the past was questioned. Author, Matthew Ehrlich said, “That a privately owned, market-driven press is necessary for the functioning of American democracy and the survival of a free people” (Ehrlich, 2005). With that being said, lying can affect society in a serious manner.

In conclusion, I believe that lying in journalism is wrong and intolerable. The moment a journalist finds themselves adding things to quotes, or trying to spruce up a story by adding facts is just unacceptable. The biggest thing to remember as a journalist is to know that people are counting on you for the truth. If telling the truth isn’t cutting it for you, maybe you should find a new career, because at the end of the day, the truth is all we have. If I were Glass, I would have went to someone I trusted, I would have went to Michael Kelly. I would have told him I lied, and asked for help. Because in that situation I just do not see a way out. I would have confessed. From a personal stand-point, nobody likes liars, and being one gets you nowhere in life. Steven Glass found that out the hard way.

References

Beckerman, G. (2003). Facts and Fictions. Columbia Journalism Review, 54-55.

Ehrlich, M. (2005). Shattered Glass, Movies, and the Free Press Myth. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 103-118.