Situation Definition
Journalism is a job filled with dedication and passion, and does not cease once you leave the office. It is a job that’s made for someone who does not stop until they find the perfect story or the perfect source, and works for the public to make sure everyone is informed. Another quality a journalist must have is transparency, they must be honest with their audience about what they know and what they have yet to know. This is where the demise of Stephen Glass began in the movie “Shattered Glass”.
In efforts to deceive the public and achieve this “perfect story”, Glass began to fabricate aspects of his stories, beginning with phone numbers and people. When he started to receive positive feedback from both his editors and the public, Glass found himself stretching even bigger parts of his story, now making up events that never happened and creating false headlines.
After a trail of lies to his editors, colleagues, and those who followed his outrageous articles, it was then revealed to all that more than half of the stories he wrote contained little to no truth. As his stories began to receive acclaim, Glass deviated from his former ethical qualities as a journalist, which ended his career and gave him a low chance of redemption to the public eye.
One example of these ethical issues is found in “The Ethical Journalist” by Gene Foreman, which actually directly references Stephen Glass and his situation. This can be found on page 137, along with a similar situation regarding Washington Post journalist Janet Cook. After it was revealed that Cook falsified a story regarding a little boy who was addicted to heroin, Cook’s career took a drastic turn, similar to Glass’. These examples amplify the cost of disregarding ethics to the reader.
Analysis
Although the movie contained a clear chain of events as to how Glass began lying and what his punishment was, it was still shocking to see just how deep he was caught in his web of lies. It was also interesting to see the lengths Glass went to to get himself out of this web, yet also wanted to continue his previous success in creating false stories.
Jefferson Spurlock, author of “Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cook, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair and Beian Williams.”, explains specifically regarding Glass that he became somewhat addicted to the positive feedback of his stories, and the feeling of being loved by the public. He further explains this addiction by saying “I wanted every story to be a home run.” (p. 1) (71).
Another reason Glass could not stop creating untrue stories was because once he created his first few stories with fake sources and fake contact information, he realized he could get away with it. This is also why he began getting a bit riskier with it, and eventually began creating stories containing no truth at all. According to Ivor Shapiro, who wrote “Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating”, many other journalists are guilty of this. He states “In other words, at the crudest level, Glass, and Blair, and all the others, did it because they could” (266).
Conclusion
I’d like to think that Glass is not a bad person for what he did. His intentions may have been selfish, but he truly meant no ill will against anyone. He, like many of us, wanted to not only be accepted, but adored and loved. Although it was wrong what he did, I think he took his consequences gracefully, but fully deserved them as well.
If I was in his situation, I would handle it similarly to him. Although I don’t think I would ever lie or get myself into the situation he did, I would come clean once I realized everyone knew I lied. As a journalist, telling the truth is a pillar of what you are and promised to be when you accepted your job. Lying is never okay in the real world, but especially in journalism.
Works Cited
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating. Canadian Journal Of Communication, 31(1), 261-266.
Foreman, G. (2016). The ethical journalist: Making responsible decisions in the digital age. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Spurlock, J. (2016). Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams. A Review Of General Semantics, 73(1), 71-76.