Situation Definition
The topic of ethical journalism is as big today as it has ever been throughout history. That is why journalists must work harder than ever to determine what is and what is not ethical. One of the great examples we see of what not to do is the case of former journalist for The New Republic, Stephen Glass, which is portrayed in the film Shattered Glass. Not only did Steve fabricate the details of numerous stories, he also lied to his colleagues and worked increasingly hard to cover his tracks. From this, there are two issues that deliver ethical messages: Steve faking stories in the first place and then his willingness to avoid being caught by lying..
Analysis
The first issue revolves around Steve’s integrity. Integrity, being honest and moral even when there is pressure to do otherwise, is an important ethical value for any journalist to maintain. In RMIT Professor Josie Vine’s Journal of Media Practice (2016), she suggests that oftentimes conflict arises from the first clause of the Media, Entertainment, Arts and Alliance’s Journalistic Code of Ethics, “…which articulates the obligation for journalists to ‘report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts’” (p. 240). Steve does not follow this clause, spending three years adding made-up details to his stories until it got to the point where entire stories were fabricated. He did this because he liked the glamour and fame that came with people liking his stories- how they had a little extra buzz to them. This, however, is an obvious breach of journalistic values, since we are supposed to report the truth and nothing but the truth. Steve knew what he was doing was wrong, but he continued to do it because of his weak willpower. He crumbled under the pressure, and thus his moral principle of integrity washed away.
The second issue revolves around Steve’s accountability. Facing the consequences of one’s actions is extremely important in day-to-day living, and even more so when practicing journalism. In Shattered Glass, Steve is seen to consistently lie to his coworkers about who is emailing him and where his sources reside. Once the details of “Hacker Heaven” unravel, he gets pressured by his editor to reveal the truth, but instead lies and creates fake names, emails, and phone numbers to try and get away with it, even showing his boss a location he described that did not exist. The only sensible reason Steve could get this deep in his own lies is that he is a compulsive liar with no sense of accountability. Never taking responsibility for your actions would be absolutely destructive to any journalist, since every story written will affect someone in some way.
Without a sense for these ethical values, journalism would never have existed in the first place, since it was built upon this ethics, which is reinforced by Romanian journalist Nicolae Melinescu in his journal, Communication & Marketing (2012), “The ethics of journalism has never been and is not even today an exercise in itself just for the sake of correctness and duty. The impact of ethical journalistic products reaches trust and objectivity” (p. 9). Ethical values make journalism what it is, and when a person without such ethics (Steve Glass) attempts to thwart the journalistic community, the result is not pretty.
Conclusion
Since ethics are so crucial to journalism, we must learn how to evaluate each situation that approaches us. This is not easy, and we cannot use the same technique for every case because each one is different from the next. However, it is important to remember that no matter how far you have or could potentially fall from journalistic grace, there is a way out through ethical values. In Steve’s case, his dilemma of integrity could be solved by changing his ways. Being a pathological liar is not easy to fix, but he must try if he wants any shot at redemption, whether that be therapy, re-education, or new self-disciplinary methods. His dilemma of accountability is easier to solve, since we as humans must be accountable in everyday life. He could start with small things, like keeping a tight gym schedule or making an everyday chores list, until he feels comfortable enough to go bigger, like taking care of a pet or becoming an involved member of the community. With enough practice and repetition, Steve could learn to take responsibility for ALL of his actions. For Steve, obtaining these two ethical values would set him on the path to redemption. For us, we must learn and abide by them as quickly as possible, because as we can see from the downfall of once-proud journalists like Steve, these ethics are necessary in order to remain a successful journalist.
References
Melinescu, Nicolae (Sept. 2012). “The Ethics of Journalism- Some Constraints of Accuracy.”, Communication & Marketing / Revista De Comunicare Si Marketing 3(5), 5-12. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=10&sid=23c88762-06be-4ddc-89ce-8483cbb810ca%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=85205055&db=ufh
Vine, Josie, et al (2016). “A Question of Ethics: the Challenges for Journalism Practice as a Mode of Research.” Journal of Media Practice 17(2-3), 232-349. doi:10.1080/14682753.2016.1248193.