Two themes that are consistent in Shattered Glass are deception versus truth, there also some other personal character flaws that young former journalist, Stephen Glass, at 25-years old. Not only did he ruin the career and reputation of his own, but his former employer The New Republic’s reputation; luckily, they were able to recover from that drawback rather quickly. Deceiving the public as a public access to knowledge, such as journalist, print or broadcast it is very imperative to stay truthful and appear objective.
I believe that Glass proceeded to take this route because he found it very easy to abuse his power he had to easily deceive not out the public, but his friends as well. Glass didn’t practice truth and accuracy, which are journalist values. Technically, he created his stories in a way that they were 100% false. Glass also did not practice accountability, humanity, and fairness; he damaged The New Republic brand by producing this content and deceive his audience. There is never a good time to plagiarize, even if it will help with meeting a deadline. It is better to ask for an extension rather than to fabricate someone else’s work.
People like Glass create a certain image for a journalist, and today many people don’t trust journalists. There are many cases where big-name publications find flaws in their contributors’ work, “Jayson Blair was scarcely the only ambitious reporter at the New York Times, and no one says they’re all cheating—but the New York Times published corrections and plagiarism notes for 39 stories by Blair in one black day, May 11, 2003.” (Shapiro)
With taking all things into account, I believe that the best thing to do is to request an extension or even ask for help. There come times where we find ourselves being very independent, but our counterparts and mentor could maybe even be a solution to our needs. Plagiarism or fabricating information should never be the answer, I believe the biggest temptation is a crushing deadline. Getting a head start on your work and contacting more sources than what you think you need, have your own original backup interview/information. If we begin to practice this type of journalism, we will weed out the urge to find the easier way out. “But, as a whole, most people are honest. Only a minority are prolific fabricators.” (Spurlock)
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why they lie: Probing the explanations for journalistic cheating. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31(1), 261-266.
Spurlock, J. (2016). WHY JOURNALISTS LIE: THE TROUBLESOME TIMES FOR JANET COOKE, STEPHEN GLASS, JAYSON BLAIR, AND BRIAN WILLIAMS. Et Cetera, 73(1), 71-76.