SITUATION DEFINITION
Media journalists have ethics that they should follow when working in the field. Two ethics that should be a top priority for newspaper journalists are not to fabricate pieces for personal benefit and to own up to your mistakes if they are made. Stephen Glass neglected both of those ideas and it was evident in the movie, “Shattered Glass”.
Glass was at fault for at least two ethical mistakes during his time at The National Republic. He started fabricating small pieces of his stories and eventually could not rid himself of the habit. When he was confronted about the suspected issue, he continued to invent lies instead of simply telling the truth and saving himself and his coworkers a lot of trouble.
ANALYSIS
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of the verb fabricate is “invent; create; to make up for the purpose of deception”. In the movie “Shattered Glass” we are shown scenes when all the reporters come together to pitch ideas for the magazine. While all the other writers had trouble coming up with a usable topic, Stephen Glass always had these interesting, and sometimes unrealistic “stories”. Nobody really seemed to question the credibility of these stories, which could be one of the ways he was able to get away with committing this ethical crime.
“This new species of public intellectuals, Jean Bethke Elshtain observes, are more public and less intellectual. They willingly indulge in fanciful ruminations, because, as Richard Posner has observed, there is no meaningful price “for getting it wrong”; tenure removes accountability” (Robin, 2004, p.108). This quote from the book “Scandals and Scoundrels: Seven Cases That Shook the Academy” explains the thought process that Glass may have gone through.
When Glass did not get caught the first couple of times after fabricating his first couple of stories. Whether he was that talented and could disguise it as the truth well enough, or if the fact checkers were overlooking these obvious delusions. Referring to the quote, journalists and reporters should be treated equally regardless of tenure. If I was the editor of a magazine and one of my coworkers was fabricating their pieces, I would want them to tell me the truth and own up to their mistakes when I confront them.
Admitting to mistakes brings me to my next point. Glass knew he was fabricating his stories, some were more in depth than others. Even when it was made known that his article, “Hack Heaven”, was completely made up with little to no truth included, he still did not own up to his mistakes. Instead, he decided to continue with his story and create fake notes, telephone numbers, and websites to show the people who were questioning him.
He carried this story so far, that eventually it became easier for him to continue with the lie than it was to own up to the mistake he had made in the very beginning. “It is time for journalists to trade in our hubris and recapture our humanity and humility. And the best way to do that is simply to admit: We make mistakes” (Jarvis, 2009, p. XXV). Many journalists do not like to admit to their mistakes because it reduces their credibility, when in reality it reduces their credibility when they fail to own up to their mistakes.
Looking at Glass and his career now, he admitted to fabricating 27 of his 41 articles for The National Republic. When you look him up, that is one of the first facts that you see about him. If he had stopped making up stories and admitted to doing it once, even a couple of times, he might still be highly credited. Instead he has this reputation, which leaves future employers to question his motives and trustworthiness.
CONCLUSION
From watching “Shattered Glass”, it seemed as if Glass was always writing about these fascinating things that were happening. For his “Hack Heaven” article, he wrote about a teenager who hacked a website and requested to be hired and paid in money and gifts in exchange for him to stop hacking the websites. Somehow, while he was pitching this article, nobody else seemed to have any knowledge that this happened. If Glass was always coming up with these elaborate stories and I was skeptical about the truth behind them, I would maybe request to go with him on one of these “adventures” to see for myself.
In all honesty, I would maybe let the reporter off on a warning for the first couple of times for not fact-checking their article or making some part up. If it continued to happen and they were taking advantage of me for letting them off with only a warning, I would have to let them go. Ethical issues like these can damage the reputation of a newspaper or magazine. The industry is so competitive, that one small problem can cause your audience to look for news elsewhere. As a student studying broadcast journalism, you never want to give your audience a reason to follow your competition instead.
REFERENCES
Silverman, Craig, and Jeff Jarvis. “Foreword.” Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech, Union Square Press, 2009, pp. XXV-XXXII.
Robin, R. T. (2004). Scandals and Scoundrel: Seven Cases That Shook the Academy. Berkeley: University of California Press.