Shattered Glass tells the story of Stephen Glass, a journalist who loses touch with important ethical principles that are essential to the honest and meaningful completion of his job. The moral responsibility of journalists to report the news objectively and truthfully is a cornerstone of the journalism field.
Two main ethical issues brought to light in the film concern both fabrication and lying. According to the course text, fabrication is defined as “making things up and passing them off as genuine” (Foreman 242). A lack of adherence to this ethical issue was where Glass’ career in journalism saw turbulence. Lying, whether it be to readers or those Glass worked with, is the second ethical issue present in the movie.
Glass began fabricating parts or the entirety of his stories in an effort to gain more recognition and interest from his colleagues and readers, as well as have his stories printed and submitted by deadlines. Glass engaged in this type of behavior many times throughout the movie. His piece “Hack Heaven” and all of the facts in it, which the film focused on, was entirely fabricated from the ground up. The Poynter Institute of Journalism points out that fabrication “can take many forms, from creating sources and embellishing stories to making quotes sound different from what was actually said” (Poynter.org). In the film, Glass can be seen taking part in all of these types of fabrication, from creating the hacker event to making up contacts and sources and then attempting to pose as those people. This fabrication of what was eventually discovered as 27 stories during Glass’ time at The New Republic put not only his own reputation at stake, but the entire magazine’s as well.
Credibility is the foundation of good journalism, and fabrication is an ethical issue that puts this on the line and allows the public to question the trust of the outlet as well as the reporter they are gathering news and information from. Loyalty to the citizens of society is an essential reason for the existence of journalism to begin with – and, in theory, this loyalty should be the basis on which journalists are morally obligated to report the truth and accurately inform (Patterson & Urbanski 830). In short, fabrication puts the entirety of the journalism field into question, as it undermines one of the original function of the press: to accurately inform its readers in a way that aids them in making better decisions regarding the way that they exist within society.
A similar incident recently occurred at The University of Texas at Austin in November, 2019. The university affiliated newspaper, The Daily Texan, decided to fire a senior reporter after it was discovered that she had fabricated quotes in multiple articles (Kxan.com). When people featured in the article reached out to the paper saying they had not provided the quotes in the story, it became clear that the student had fabricated the information. This instance reinforces the importance of having strong ethical principles when engaging in journalistic work and shows the everlasting effect that fabrication has on the journalism field, and how vital honesty is to producing valid and reputable work.
The second ethical issue that is apparent in Shattered Glass is lying. When Stephen Glass began to be questioned by those around him on the integrity and honesty of his work, he responded by lying to his editor and other staff members. Glass then proceeded to attempt to cover up the many mistakes he had made in the reporting process and that permeated so many of his articles. Glass was extremely dishonest when he was confronted about the story and this contributed to his violation of basic ethical issues. This is ethically concerning because it shows Glass’ blatant disregard for one of the most fundamental ideals of journalism. These lies and disrespect for the truth are concerning because they “tend to mislead an ignorant or unsuspecting public” (Mourão & Robertson 4). It is so vital to locate these cases and rectify the damage that they have done in order to preserve that public trust and respect between all stakeholders involved in the news reporting process.
Glass was eventually fired from the magazine. Possible solutions to better have dealt with the situation would be to tell the truth at an earlier stage in order to spare some respect for the people Glass was working with. I think that acknowledging his own mistakes would have allowed him to have less harsh of a penalty, or at least some more understanding from those around him and his editor. The story of Stephen Glass reminds us of the importance of transparency and morality in the field of journalism.
References
Foreman, Gene. The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Digital Age. Wiley, 2016.
4 guidelines to avoid fabrication in your news coverage. (2016, August 30). Retrieved from http://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2016/4-guidelines-to-avoid-fabrication-in-your-news-coverage/.
Patterson, M. J., & Urbanski, S. (2006). What Jayson Blair And Janet Cooke Say About The Press And The Erosion Of Public Trust1. Journalism Studies, 7(6), 828–850. doi: 10.1080/14616700600980488
Mourão, R. R., & Robertson, C. T. (2019). Fake News as Discursive Integration: An Analysis of Sites That Publish False, Misleading, Hyperpartisan and Sensational Information. Journalism Studies, 20(14), 2077–2095. doi: 10.1080/1461670x.2019.1566871
UT student newspaper reporter fired for fabricating quotes. (2019, November 22). Retrieved from http://www.kxan.com/top-stories/ut-student-run-newspaper-reporter-fired-for-fabricating-quotes/