Blog#2- Reflection on “Shattered Glass”- Tianshuo Ge
The movie Shattered Glass tells a story that a young journalist Stephen Glass fabricated 27 of his stories to attract the attention of readers during his time working for The New Republic magazine, and finally his deception was uncovered by his editor Chuck. From my perspective, the two issues that bring me intense ethical messages are his attempt to deceive the public as a journalist and his dishonesty with his colleagues and editors.
Glass’ motive for fabricating his stories what he did is understandable. As a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and a promising young journalist, he was highly motivated, ambitious to achieve some stuff in his early career but also under the stressful situation of producing more interesting stories to earn recognition from others.
Excitement and recognition from others were important things Glass were seeking for. During an interview by CBS in 2013, he reminisced: “I said to myself what I said every time, ‘You must stop’… But I didn’t. 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.” Absolutely, this mind was what prevented him from stopping his cheating. Shapino (2006) described Glass’ mentality in his article, “These include personal factors that we might place under the heading of psychological disability…He longs to be admired and loved; he cheats to avoid rejection.”
I believe that recording facts is the fundamental duty for a journalist, instead of telling stories. No matter what reasons you have, cheating is always inexcusable for journalists. Honesty and reliability could earn you the real respect and recognition from others, and dependable journalists would absolutely gain plenty of loyal readers.
Glass’ dishonesty with his editors and colleagues is the other ethical issue. First, I think Glass was really smart. He knew how to set up a good image in the office, which earned lots of support from his colleagues and benefited himself in his work. At the beginning of the film, Glass mentioned: “If you are even a little bit humble, a little bit self-effacing or solicitous, you stand out…bring a co-worker a lunch if he’s buried under a deadline, remember birthdays…” That is the reason why he could gain sympathy from colleagues even though he was keep lying when he was under investigation by his editor afterwards.
Beckerman (2006) commented on Glass’ actions in a journal: “…and there are moments when you certainly get a glimpse of his pathology…when you see the energy he has to expend to cover his tracks, and when he manipulates his colleagues and his former editor, the late Michael Kelly, into backing him when he is lying.” However, under the deceptive appearance, he kept making up plenty of new lies to cover up the fabrication of his stories.
Finally, Glass lost his all credibility as a journalist and his job. This story tells us failing is always better than cheating. If you have lost reputation, you can’t do anything to save your journalist career. Honesty and sincerity are keys to the success of your life.
References
Beckerman, G. (2003) Facts and Fictions. Columbia Journalism Review, 42 (3), 54-55.
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31(1), 262-266.