In the movie Shattered Glass, we learn about a young news reporter who violates ethics of news reporting throughout the movie. Stephen Glass is the youngest journalist at the newspaper the New Republic. He always had the most avant-garde stories, and the other reporters at this magazine envied his new spin on the reporting industry. His stories came from a new direction that the other reporters had not yet explored. His coworkers were becoming jealous, that is, until his boss, Chuck Lane, finds problems with his reporting. Glass went to great lengths to validate his stories of false information, and ultimately he was exposed for his fake stories and fired. Two ethical principles that Glass did not follow include not seeking to publish true information for readers to consume, and violating the sanctity of trust between colleagues.
The first story Glass published with problems we are aware of was a piece about a Republican convention. He reported that the Republicans at this convention were drunk from alcohol they got from the hotel’s mini bar, and paying prostitutes in their rooms. The New Republic received a call from the hotel that this convention took place at, accusing the magazine of slander because they did not have mini-bars in their rooms. Lane spoke to Glass about this issue, and told Glass that he must fact check everything next time, as to not print misinformation. Glass appeared to show humility and remorse; he even offered to leave his job. Lane did not feel that this was a necessary measure, he just told Glass that this can never happen again. Glass did not take the necessary measures to ensure that everything he published was fact; informing his readers of falsehoods. This piece of information was an oversight, but still misinformed readers. Later, however, Glass published an entire story that was completely fabricated; he made up all of the information in this story. He wrote about a teen hacker who was hired by a company so that he would stop hacking their website, and that he was worshiped at a hacking convention. This time, Glass did not accidentally misinform readers; he purposefully mislead them for his own personal gain.
In addition to misleading his readers, he also mislead his colleagues. Glass took Lane on a wild goose chase to cover his mistakes and attempt to convince him that his story was truthful. Rather than admitting his faults and apologizing for lying, he went to far extremes trying to explain and cover up his lies. By doing this, he lost the colleague-trust he had between himself, Chuck Lane, and the rest of the reporters at the New Republic. News reporting is a career that requires complete truth-telling and trust in your colleagues. Glass violated the sanctity of the trust between colleagues in the office.
I believe that Glass published fake news stories for the shock value and sensationalism of what was being published. By releasing these stories, he gained attention from his readers, making him noticed within the print-journalism community. He made up facts so his stories would gain traction, but there is so much wrong with that. You cannot publish information with the readers under the impression that that information is true. That is lying to your readers, which is completely unprofessional and unethical as a reporter.
The whole point of journalism is to present the truth to those consuming the information. Journalism is strictly for reporting facts. “Fiction” is for retelling stories with fake information. According to Gabriel Pal’a in his article Ethics in Journalism as a Basis for the Journalistic Profession, he argues that “the role of the journalist is to seek solutions that are in the spirit of truth, objectivity, impartiality, and at the same time provide a public service.” In this article, he claims that the whole job of journalists is to report a story exactly the same as the information comes to them; it is crucial that no facts are misrepresented.
Not only did Glass publish fake stories in an attempt to further his career, he also lied to his colleagues and broke the barrier of trust. He lied to save himself from the impending punishment he would receive for his lies if caught, but it was to no avail. He was fired anyway. In the journalistic profession, it is important to have an open and honest relationship with each colleague, to uphold the integrity of the profession. Glass lied to all of his colleagues, demonstrating his disregard for this major ethical practice, and showing his true colors; that he really did not care enough about the profession.
Pal’a also makes note that “journalists must act socially responsible on a whole range of issues, but also remain loyal to their employers.” There can be no trust in this field if lies are being told to colleagues. In order to be working in a healthy environment, there must be trust in the workplace. According to Robert W. Rogers and Sheryl Riddle in their article Trust in the Workplace, “Integrity, as a measure of coherence and consistency, is key to building and sustaining trust. We trust those who are honest and consistent in their actions, who fully disclose important information, who are willing to deal with tough issues, and who are open about their objectives and motives. Organizations that prosper over the long run commit to fundamental integrity in their products and services, their processes and systems, and their people.”
In order for the New Republic to function in a cohesive manner, there needed to be trust established between Glass and his colleagues. By lying to everyone, he eradicated any trust that had previously existed, thus diminishing the company’s ability to work well together. Without trust in the workplace, there cannot be any advancement. Stephen Glass’s actions ultimately hurt the workplace relationship that the New Republic once had, and there was no way that anyone there would be able to trust him again. Firing him was the best course of action to deal with his behavior and lack of ethics in the workplace.
There are many solutions to Glass’s unprofessional and unethical behavior throughout Shattered Glass. To perform the tasks of a journalist well, one must remain ethical and stay true to the facts of their reporting. If Glass had only reported real facts, he would have never lost his job. All he needed to do was report the truth, but he felt as though he was above the law and invincible. He did not think he would get caught, and this was definitely a mistake. He did not think he would get in trouble for his actions, and he was very mistaken. Reporters must always report factual information, so readers know that what they are reading is the truth. That is what is ethical in reporting.
Secondly, Glass should not have lied to Lane about the misreporting in his articles. He forced Lane to lose his trust in him, and therefore not want to work with him. Admitting that he made up information in his articles would be hard to do, and I understand his inner conflict, but I believe it would have worked out the best for him if he had told the truth to Lane. He probably would have still been fired, but might not have lost the strong ties he once had with the New Republic, and may have been able to move to another magazine. Glass ruined his journalism career over his lies, and this may have been avoidable. Glass went on to attend law school and later become a paralegal, a job one does not need law school for, because no one trusted him enough to hire him. If Glass had tried to be a reliable employee, he may have been able to achieve more in his life.
- Pal’a, Gabriel. “Ethics in Journalism as a Basis for the Journalistic Profession.” E-Theologos 2.2 (2011): n. pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.
- Rogers, Robert W., and Sheryl Riddle. “TRUST IN THE WORKPLACE.” The Catalyst 13.27 (2006): n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.