Shattered Glass Review
Situation definition
The shattered glass is an American movie that portrays the life of a journalist, Stephen Glass. The journalist is faced with controversy due to the nature of his work. Through the movie, there is a focus on various unethical behaviors of journalists that are increasing in magnitude in contemporary society. The journalist who worked for the New Republic is seen as having fabricated at least twenty-seven out of the total forty-one articles that he did. The journalist is known as among the greatest liars in the history of America. The two unethical issues that the movie brings out include lying and the misuse of trust
Lying as an unethical issue in journalism includes adding unreal details to the stories to come up with a story that is catchier to the audience. While journalists may lie to see their stories sell, it brings about disrepute on the role of journalism in society. Through lying, the journalist misinforms the public, leading to negative consequences. Misuse of trust is a severe unethical issue that journalist engages in as they spread stories and news. Through the misuse of trust, journalists risk losing the trust of their audience. The audience gets the impression that the journalists are untrustworthy. Consequently, journalists lose credibility.
Analysis
While it was unethical to lie and to misuse the trust that Stephen had, he did so to sell out his stories more and gain more popularity. Through lying, it is possible to generate exciting stories that would meet the expectations of the audience (Iggers 2018). The ethical issues at stake include trust and integrity. In the case of the loss of integrity, it becomes impossible for journalists to sell future stories successfully (Iggers 2018). The audience develops pre-informed opinions that make their work viewed with suspicion and mistrust.
The journalisms values and principles in play include truth and accuracy, verification, transparency, and accountability. Truth and accuracy are exhibited when journalists seek to ensure that the information that they deliver to the audience is conveyed honestly. In the case of the shattered glass, this principle is lost when the journalist published false stories. The principle of verification includes being able to seek out witnesses to a story. It entails the provision of the highest possible information on the sources of a story (Craft & Davis, 2016). It involves seeking comments from all the parties involved in a story. In the shattered glass, this principle is risked since, due to the stories being falsified, they consequently cannot be verified. The principle of accountability suggests that the journalist have the responsibility of correcting any information that they publish and is found to be inaccurate. The principle of transparency entails being able to connect all the stories to their sources (Craft & Davis, 2016). My recommendation is that in the case that a journalist faces a similar situation as Stephen Glass, the best action would be to own up to the mistake and determine the best way of rectifying it. The mode of rectification would depend on the intensity of the harm caused by the situation.
Conclusion
The solution to the problem would be to be accountable for the falsification of the information. It would be necessary to own up to the committed mistakes. As the mistake was of high intensity, the best decision would be to resign from the position as he had lost the principles and values of journalism. The lessons that I have learned from the movie include that as a journalist, it is essential to focus on the provision of correct information rather than the creation of false stories, even if it would mean a less audience. I would solve the dilemma by understanding my audience to ensure that I provide true stories that would fit the requirement of a specific audience.
References
Craft, S., & Davis, C. N. (2016). Principles of American journalism: An introduction. Routledge.
Iggers, J. (2018). Good news, bad news: Journalism ethics and the public interest. Routledge.