Shannon Ryan
Blog 2
Part 1:
“Stephen Glass was three things; a phenomenal liar, a great story-teller and an awful journalist. ” Glass committed two of the most lethal ethical sins in journalism, he deceived the public and his editors, along with the whole staff of The New Republic by fabricating his stories entirely and fictionally embellishing others.
In class we defined fabrication as “making things up and passing them along as genuine.” “Stephen Glass wrote magazine stories that were so good they read like fiction” and in fact they were. But the deception did not stop there he continued to weave a complex web of lies as he “concocted elaborate schemes to fool fact-checkers.”
Part 2:
In the words of Keith Woods dean of faculty for Poynter institute “ethics is the pursuit of right when wrong is a strong possibility” (Foreman 2010)In Why They Lie: Probing explanations for Journalistic Cheating they reference Glass’ interview with 60 minutes “In it, he described a decisive moment of temptation that will resonate for journalists everywhere: ‘I remember thinking if I just had the exact quote that I wanted, it would be perfect…” It’s what he did next that sets him apart…” What he did next was write exactly what he wanted loving what he described as the “electricity” he felt from it, a super charge gained from the feeling his story was going to be a “home run.” (Sharpio 2006) Glass’ fabrication is a clear cut example of an ethical violation as he chose to pursue what was wrong. Through fabrication Glass was able to write sensational fiction and pass it off as journalism. This fiction obviously entertained readers and staff members at The New Republic but only until they discovered the truth.
By “portraying” positive character Glass was able to earn the trust and loyalty of his co-workers and editors alongside theirs and the publics admiration with his (rightfully) seemingly “too good to be true” writing.
The short term reward for Glass’ actions were in no way a match for the consequences that entailed. According to Kovach and Rosentiel’s six key principles, known as the “elements of journalism” (Foreman 2010) “Journalisms first loyalty is to it’s citizens. Journalists are most valuable to their employers if they put their duty to the audience ahead of their employers short term financial interests. “
Temporarily Glass’ employers may have been pleased but by defying Journalism’s first obligation (also listed in Kovach and Rosentiel’s elements of journalism)- to the truth- Glass damaged the credibility of the magazine as a whole, lost the trust of it’s readers as well as his credibility as not just a journalist but a professional and person. According to Kovach and Rosentiel it is this “disinterested pursuit of the truth” that distinguishes journalism from other forms of communication, like journalism and entertainment, Glass’ actions undermined the very definition of journalism.
According to Ann Reilly Dowd in The Great Pretender “If there is any value to the saga of what may be the biggest hoax in modern American journalistic history, it’s that it has many journalists asking questions about their checking systems. “ (Dowd 1998) As mentioned above Glass’ actions did not just tarnish his reputation as a journalist but the reputation of The New Republic as a whole, his ethics weren’t the only thing to fail- Glass published dozens of articles until he was caught by The Rolling Stone, it was clear that The New Republic had failed in it’s editorial and fact-checking process, failing it’s audience and consequently failing to adhere to the most basic principles of journalism; to always tell the truth and to never deceive your audience.
Part 3:
As mentioned by Dowd the only thing to be gained from Glass’ actions is a lesson. There are no “solutions” for what he did. He ethically “sinned” and his reputation as a journalist will forever be dead. But moving forward The New Republic, damaged reputation and all, must ensure that it’s fact checking system is fool proof. It is their responsibility to the public, their audience and to other journalists, because as mentioned above the only thing that distinguishes journalism form other forms of communication is the truth- so when one person violates ethics, the entire field as a whole suffers a blow to it’s legitimacy and public perception.
As a solution The New Republic should (as it did) publish a retraction and apology to it’s readers as an attempt to reestablish a relationship and regain their trust. As we saw from Glass’ attempts to cover up his lies with more lies, the only true way to fix a lie is with honesty- that’s why it was so important for The New Republic to come clean and be as open as possible with their readers. It’s impossible to fix “shattered glass” the only thing we as journalists can do, or even Stephen Glass can do, is sweep up the pieces and work tirelessly to adhere to journalistic ethics.
Part 4:
Dowd, A. R. (1998).The Great Pretender. Columbia Journalism Review, 37(2), 14-15.
Foreman, G. (2010). The ethical journalist: Making responsible decisions in the pursuit of news (p. 17, 26). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating. Canadian Journal Of Communication, 31(1), 261-266.