Situation Definition:
“Shattered Glass” is a movie we watched during class this semester. It’s a real story about a famous journalist Stephen Glass. Stephen is a charming guy; everyone in The New Republic likes him and trust him. He gets success and become quite remarkable. However, after publishing an article full of false information; Stephen’s new editor finds out Stephen always made up things inside his articles. In the end, Stephen got fired from the company. At the beginning of this story, Stephen says a small lie. Later on, he has to build more and more things to hide that little lie, until the lie is too big to cover. In the journalism field, the fabricated story is something unforgivable. Once Stephen loses his credibility, no one wants to trust him anymore. This real-life event reminds us the journalism ethics is a significant rule for every journalist to follow.
Analysis:
To analysis Stephen’s behavior, we have to dig it from Stephen’s psychological angle. Firstly, Stephen is a young boy. He wants to write interesting things and doesn’t realize it is a morally wrong thing to do. Secondly, he wants to pursue fame. He hopes to be famous in the journalism field. It’s understandable. However, it’s unacceptable to lie to the editors, readers, and even the whole society. If Stephen only lied once, he might still gain people’s trust. Unfortunately, he lied in 27 of his articles. This harmful behavior not only will destroy himself, but also damage the reputation of the entire magazine company. Also, Stephen knows what he is doing; he knows he is lying to everyone. He tries so hard to cover the truth, such as choosing a location, creating phone numbers, writing business cards, and even making a website. He keeps denying his conducts till the end, also using the form of fiction. Stephen knows he is creating “fake news” and never wants to clear up his lies. According to Bruce Mutsvairo from the University of Technology Sydney, “The simplest definition by posting news articles that are intentionally and verifiably false, and could mislead readers constitute ‘fake news’” (Mutsvairo, p145). The “fake news” spreads the disinformation to society; it will cause public panic and potentially adding a threat to the credibility of journalism.
According to Samuel G. Freedman, “All reputable journalists, leaders of news organizations and publishing executives must adopt a zero-tolerance policy: break the trust once, and you never will write non-fiction again” (Shapiro, p265). This sentence might sound quite heartless, but it true. If this kind of situation happened, we need to stop it as quick as possible. The old editor seems nice to Glass, but Chuck Lane exposes Glass’s lie without helping to hide it. Chunk looks unfriendly to Glass, but he is leading the whole company to do the right thing.
Conclusion:
Indeed, Stephen Glass is unforgivable. His result might be the best ending of his story. He uses his life teaches us a lesson: Integrity and credibility is the most precious treasure of all the journalists. We should always follow journalism ethics and be a high moral person.
References:
Mutsvairo, B., Bebawi, S., & Gutsche, R. E. (2019). Journalism Educators, Regulatory Realities, and Pedagogical Predicaments of the “Fake News” Era: A Comparative Perspective on the Middle East and Africa. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,74(2),143157.https://doiorg.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1177/1077695819833552
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31(1), 261–266. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.22230/cjc.2006v31n1a1595