To be a good journalist you must always tell the truth and NEVER deceive your audience or colleagues (Principles of Journalism). Stephen Glass is trying to make a name for himself as a reporter for The New Republic but he makes some very wrong decisions. His first mistake is when he is describing the minibars and drunken antics at the Young Republicans convention. His editor, Michael Kelly questions him and Glass does admit he made one mistake and that the rest is true. Glass publishes a new story titled “Hack Heaven”. After the article is published, a reporter, Adam Penenberg at Forbes Digital Tool begins researching the story to find out how Glass discovered the information. Penenburg was unable to come up with any evidence for Glass’ story and brings his concerns to The New Republic. Stephen Glass couldn’t provide any sources for his article. Later, he finally admits that he wasn’t actually at the hacker convention and just relied on his sources. Stephen Glass betrayed the company he worked for by fabricating a total of 27 news articles. The main issues for Stephen Glass’ mistakes are that he deceived his audience and colleagues and that he lied.
Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest a courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information (SPJ Code of Ethics). I believe that Steven Glass was completely disrespected his colleagues and his readers. He made them believe stories that were untrue. It isn’t fair for everyone to think that the story they are reading or publishing is authentic information when it’s not.
Why would Glass fabricate his stories when it so obviously wrong? I think that he wanted to do well so badly that he would do whatever it takes to be recognized. This quote from a CBS report proves just that, “I loved the electricity of people liking my stories. I loved going to story conference meetings and telling people what my story was going to be, and seeing the room excited. I wanted every story to be a home run,” (CBS).
In conclusion, if I were to put myself in Glass’ shoes I would take full responsibility for my mistakes. I know I can’t resolve the issues but I could try to earn back some of the lost respect from my friends and colleagues. A public formal apology would be best for addressing the audience. Stephen Glass made the ethically smart decision by retiring from journalism and becoming a fictional storyteller instead and I believe that is a much more fitting job for him.
Works Cited:
Stephen Glass: I Lied For Esteem. (2003, January 1). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-glass-i-lied-for-esteem-07-05-2003/
SPJ Code of Ethics. (6 September 2014). Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Principles of Journalism. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles-of-journalism/