Snake It Till You Make It: A disregard for Journalistic Ethics
Part 1
Steven Glass committed multiple ethical violations during his time at The New Republic. The most blatant and objectionable offense was fabricated parts, or at times all, of several stories he had published at The New Republic. The New Republic released a statement that said that 27 of Glass’s 41 articles had at least some fabrications.
Another ethical and morale issue with Glass was the fact that he manipulated his coworkers. Glass wanted people to like him. He paired his fictitious stories with a self-conscious persona. The film Shattered Glass demonstrated several times that Glass would complement his coworkers and express a lack of confidence in his work. When Glass was caught in a lie, he would admit to a small error in an attempt to hide the larger lies.
Part 2
With Stephen Glass, the main ethical issue that is at stake is being truthful. When the public reads an article by a journalist, especially one working at an organization as prominent as The New Republic, it trusts that 100% of the information is truthful. Being a journalist is a huge responsibility, and violating the trust of one’s readers is certainly an ethical choice. Glass chose to lie to his readers; he came to the ethical decision that he did not care about telling the truth.
Some feel that there has been a sudden increase of journalists lying or plagiarizing, but Ivor Shapiro of Ryerson University claims “maybe what’s sudden is the cheaters getting caught” (261). Journalists have likely been violating ethical issues for a long time, they just have been getting caught more often in the past couple decades. The Internet has played a role in this, but readers being more aware of the problem have also helped (Shapiro, 261).
So why do journalists like Stephen Glass do this? Shapiro points out that it is not due to a lack of ability. Glass was a “gifted writer and brilliant reporter” (Shapiro, 262). Shapiro makes a great point. It may have been more difficult for Glass to create and attempt to cover these extravagant false stories than it would have been to write less interesting but true stories. Glass violated the ethical issues because he felt like he could get away with it. He needed to be the center of attention and have people feel like he was the best.
Glass also manipulated his coworkers. Glass “had a likable demeanor, an eye for detail, and an ear for language” (Dowd, 14). The likable demeanor was simple. He went out of his way to compliment others and treat them well. The eye for detail was key. He could pick up on little things that he would then use to further himself. In the movie, he complemented a fellow workers lipstick and another workers jewelry. Glass knew he could gain his coworkers loyalty with remarks like that. After he is exposed, several coworkers do not want him to get fired. They think of him as a confused kid, instead of a master manipulator.
“Friends of Glass describe him as an extraordinarily affable but insecure person who needs constant affirmation” (Dowd, 15). The need for constant attention likely played a part in Glass’s ethical issues. He didn’t want his stories to be good; he needed them to be the best. He needed unique stories that stood out and brought extra attention to him. He needed people to like him. That’s probably why he tried to be so nice to everyone, so that when he messed up they would come to his aid.
Part 3
It is tough to come up with a solution to stop the ethical violations that Stephen Glass committed. The best suggestion is to constantly be looking for warning signs. Journalists are taught always to be skeptical; therefore they should always keep their professional guard up even when people like Glass compliment their lipstick or act like their friend. Editors should make more of an effort to check the sources of their reporters. It is unfair to expect them to have the time to check every story of every reporter, but a system where the editors take a look at one piece of a journalist’s work every couple of months could be an effective system.
After Stephen Glass was exposed, The New Republic handled the issue about as well as they could have. They suspended and eventually fired Glass, they issued an apology to their readers, and they took responsibility for being duped. This was not the last occurrence of journalists violating ethical values and it will not be the last. It is important that once cases are exposed, people apologize and take responsibility for their action. The more people are caught, the less likely future offenses will occur.
References
Dowd, A. R. (1998). THE GREAT PRETENDER. Columbia Journalism Review, 37(2),
14-15.
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating.
Canadian Journal Of Communication, 31(1), 261-266.