Part 1. Situation Definition:
The movie Shattered Glass tells the true story of Stephen glass, a former journalist who is notably known for his remarkably large campaign of made-up news articles. Back in the 1990’s, Glass worked was one of the youngest staff writers for The New Republic magazine. He was admired by his peers for his work and charismatic personality. The legendary downfall of Glass’ revolves around two main issues of fabrication and manipulation.
More than half of the 41 articles published by Glass were proven fabricated. In order to make his stories seem believable, Glass used the power of manipulation to gain support and sway the perspectives of his superiors and colleagues. When things stopped adding up, Glass thought quick on his feet, feeding lies and charming anyone who questioned his credibility. These issues brought me intense ethical messages since both are morally and professionally wrong.
Part 2. Analysis:
After watching Shattered Glass, I developed a new perspective on the notion of journalism. The tale of Stephen Glass exemplifies the real hardships of being both a respectful and skilled journalist. I believe that Glass committed the crimes he did, due to the pressure he felt from himself, his colleagues and his readers. From simply watching Shattered Glass, it was very obvious that Glass was writer who was very passionate about his work. I believe he wanted to prove his potential as a reporter and be admired as a skilled journalist. However, as a result of his dishonest efforts, Glass will forever be looked at as unethical, untrustworthy, liar. By committing those crimes, he ultimately ruined his entire career and reputation in the world of journalism.
When becoming a journalist, there are several ethical values to consider; accuracy, objectivity, accountability and truthfulness. During his time as a reporter for the New Republic, Glass opted to neglect these values in order to gain approval and praise from his readers. What I found to be interesting in the notorious case of Stephen Glass, was that despite his obvious dishonesty and exploitation, majority of Glass’ co-workers and peers were still working in his defense, even after the truth unraveled. In his book “Good News, Bad News: Journalism Ethics and Public Interest,” Author Jeremy Igger discusses a similar case of fabrication that took place back in 1981. Writer Janet Cooke was condemned after winning a Pullizter Prize for a false story about an eight-year-old inner-city drug addict. Igger goes on to moderately defend writers such as Glass and Cooke stating, “What’s wrong with American journalism today won’t be drastically affected by whether or not Janet Cooke is rehired” (Igger1999). Igger presents the idea that ethical problems within journalism partially reside in the expectations of reporters and the journalistic values themselves.
Stephen A. Ward is another author that touches on the issue of ethical values in journalism. In his book “Invention of Journalistic Ethics: The Path to objectivity and beyond,” Ward focusses on journalist’s and readers shared perception of “objectivity.” He points out that cases of fabrication within journalism are often provoked by the pressure and expectations present by the audiences. Ward proposes “a new theory of objectivity” between journalists and the public to “avoid biased and unbalanced reporting” (Ward 2015). I believe both opinions of Igger and Ward correlate to the case of Stephen Glass. If it was not for the pressures as a journalist, I believe that Glass would have felt less inclined to lie. When facing similar moral challenges, I have always found that honesty is the best policy.
Part 3. Conclusion:
After watching Shattered Glass and discussing with my classmates, I have come to the conclusion that the only logical solution would have been to fire Glass. He was clearly not in the right state of mind so I believe most would not label Glass as a terrible person, however trusting him as a reporter is another story… By firing Glass, he suffers the consequence of losing his dream of becoming a successful journalist. Through personal experience and from this story I have come to realize that mistakes are easier to forgive than lies. If Glass had made the mistake of lying once or twice and went to admit his wrong doings, then there could have been a chance for him to keep his job. The field of journalism is based on the ethical values of truth, accuracy, objectivity and accountability. By defying not just one, but all of them, Glass had ruined any opportunity he had to make it as a reporter. From this story I have learned that, no matter the case, it is always better to do the morally right thing.
Part 4. References
Iggers, J. (1999). Good news, bad news: journalism ethics and the public interest. Boulder (Colo.): Westview.
Ward, S. J. (2015). The invention of journalism ethics: the path to objectivity and beyond. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
’60 Minutes’ (CBS, Season 35, Episode 37). (2017, September 18). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from https://vimeo.com/30824692