In the movie Shattered Glass Stephen Glass’s success at the The New Republic comes crashing down when the high pressure environment of being a journalist begins to take a toll on his ability to perform truthfully. Glass fabricates 27 of his 41 articles that were published.
Stephen Glass pertoke in both deception and manipulation. He had an inability to admit his faults resulting in more fabrication. This ethical controversy was a result of the manipulation of the public. In a field where trust means everything Glass not only put his reputation and own job on the line, but his editors, and the New Republic.
Stephen Glass began to feel the intense pressure of a journalist. Being a journalist means having strict deadlines. Stephen yearned for praise and when he couldn’t find the perfect story he fabricated. In a quote from the CBS 60 minutes interview with Stephen Glass he admits, “I remember thinking, ‘If I just had the exact quote that I wanted to make it work, it would be perfect.’ And I wrote something on my computer, and then I looked at it, and I let it stand. And then it ran in the magazine and I saw it” (Kroft, 2003).
Stephen Glass shows examples of laziness and he fails to do the work himself and instead lies to make up for it. David Abrahamson of Northwestern University writes, “Next, never underestimate the role that laziness plays in human affairs. Knowing the world, remaining undeceived, is work. Hard work that must be done every day. Not everyone, not all of us, are willing to do it all the time” (Abrahamson, 2012). Unfortunately Glass compromised his truth and let laziness and the desire to succeed quickly take over.
Glass manipulated his audience and his colleagues. Deceiving the public and their access to knowledge is a major ethical issue. Credibility of writers is paramount. Glass knowingly presented false information. One of the five ethical principles is “Mill’s Principle of Utility” stating “to seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” Glass sought happiness for himself, and by partaking in deception he no longer cared about the public nor this editor, or colleagues. The ethical principle explains that you must consider the consequences.
Glass had an inability to admit his faults resulting in more fabrication. As his lies began to snowball Glass continued to lie more. To cover his lies he created fake notes, fake voicemails, fake faxes, and a fake Website. Stephen would do whatever it took to deceive his editors and his readers. Even after being caught he refused to admit his wrongdoings. According to Spurlock, Saltz notes, “Lying often gets worse with the passage of time. When you get away with a lie it often impels you to continue your deceptions. Also, liars often find themselves perpetrating more untruths to cover themselves” (Saltz, 2004).
The public relies on journalists to be ethical in its decisions. Breaking the trust between a writer and a reader could ruin a writer’s career. The public relies on the journalist to give factual information. Glass had the opportunity to admit his wrong doings but instead he made the unethical decision to continue to lie and deceive those around him.
It’s important that when journalists compromise their integrity that they must own up to their wrongdoings in order to insure that there credibility isn’t being compromised. To resolve this issue Glass needed to be fired to show the importance of honesty in the journalism industry.
SPURLOCK, J. (2016). Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 73(1), 71 -76. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=125698524&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Abrahamson, D. (2012). Journalism and Deception: The Other Side of a Two-Faced Coin. Journal of Magazine & New Media Research, 13(1), 1–4. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=87590148&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Stephen Glass: I Lied For Esteem
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-glass-i-lied-for-esteem-07-05-2003/