Blog 2- “Shattered Glass” by Dominique Young
In the move Shattered Glass, Stephen Glass is a journalist for the New Republic. In the movie Stephen produced stories that were fabricated. He was allowed to get away with these fabricated stories because there wasn’t any fact checking on the behalf of his employer. In one incident Stephen was called out and admitted to one statement being a lie, but reassured the rest of his story was true. This went without any further questioning. When being ethical it is one’s job to be cautious of the possible outcomes based on decisions they make. Also, the proper way something should be done out of decency. Two issues that bring me, ethical messages are falsified stories and naivety.
The role of a journalist is to produce stories that truthful and consist of human interest. Stephen glass took the role of a storyteller rather than journalist. The movie referred to these as colorful stories. According to the Society of Professional Journalist, “journalist should take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible” (SPJ, 2014). Stephen Glass falsified his stories and continued to because of the feedback he received from his readers. One of the many jobs of a journalist is to produce content for human interest. Meaning they must write news worthy stories, which Stephen Glass’s case he did but they weren’t true. This brings up a second role appointed to a journalist accuracy. Although interesting, Stephen continuously lied to his audience.
The ethical message of naivety falls upon his boss Michael Kelly. When Kelly first noticed a lie in one of Glass’s stories, he brought it up. Glass admitted only one thing in the story was a lie, and Kelly allowed the story to still be published. In the event that falsified information is found in a journalist’s story, the whole document should go under review. It was naïve of Kelly to automatically believe the rest of the story was true once he noticed a piece of it was fabricated. Does the ethical rule of keeping a sources identity protected role come into place? Did it stop Glass’s credibility from being looked into to? “Protection of sources is well recognized in international law as a key principle underpinning press freedom. It has been specifically recognized by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. In the U.S. there is no federal shield law. State shield laws vary in scope, but the best of them uphold the right of reporters to resist demands to reveal his or her source” (Ethical Journalism Network)
A look into the first ethical issue of falsified stories. Glass liked the feeling of being a winner, so in order to remain on top he felt the need to fabricate his stories. The ethical issues at stake were credibility, distortion, transparency etc. When Glass was questioned about his “Hack Heaven” story he struggled with proof of sources and when asked specific details, he stumbled on words because he was making up scenarios as the questions came. Of course, all his stories were beyond distorted because they simply did not exist. In October of 2016 CNN produced a news story that was entirely a lie. The story of “Thousands of fraudulent ballots for Clinton uncovered” reached 6.1 million people before being deemed a lie (CNN,2016).
If a situation like this one were to arise, I would have no other option than to come forward. As seen in the movie although Glass got away with his fabrications in the beginning, he later faced greater consequences. By me continuing to fabricate stories such as Glass, I would only diminish my credibility of my title as a journalist. In case that it’s my first fabricated story, with an editor like Kelly. In my opinion if I were to admit to fabrication, he would have penalized me to a minimum. Such as suspension or give me the opportunity to gather another truthful story, but with stipulations to time frame and the number of sources I needed. Overall, I have learned that need to keep my readers intrigued, should be the need for me to resort to fabrication. In the end, I should abide by the ethical rules of journalism, because although the fabricated stories are interesting. Real stories are meant to keep people updated on real life situations just as much as they are to keep human interest.
References:
SPJ Code of Ethics – Society of Professional Journalists. (2014, September 6) https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Ethics and Protection of Sources.
Fake news stories have been particularly prevalent during this election cycle. (2016, November 2). 5 stunning fake news stories that reached millions.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/02/media/fake-news-stories/index.html