Situation:
“Shattered Glass” is a true story about The New Republic and one of its previous author’s Stephan Glass who doctored and fabricated 27 of his 41 stories during his time at the news source. It’s the story about a man who was so encumbered by his lies that eventually tainted the name of the source.
We studied this film during our class because it brings up the ethical standards that have to do with the journalism industry and the field we as students plan to enter once we graduate. As journalism and communications majors, we are required to abide by the standards of honest, professional reporting. This film shows us that once you fabricate or doctor a story once, it can happen over and over until you’re stuck in a web of lies.
Analysis:
The two issues I plan on covering in this piece are the signs for plagiarism as well as the history of the New Republic after the fact. These two points go hand in hand because it is one thing to fabricate a piece and damage your reputation as a writer and it is another to damage the reputation of an entire news source. This is something journalists need to keep in mind when they begin to work for a company centered around writing.
As it has probably been mentioned in previous blog posts, Stephan Glass is a pathological liar. When someone has a habit of lying frequently, they often forget what it’s like to be completely honest. They build lies one on top of the other until they are covering up everything they say. In the Columbia Journalism Review, they discuss how lying for journalistic purposes hurts more than just the writer.
“At its worst, but no worse than bad journalism in any form, it is not only an embarrassment but can be downright destructive.” (“The Lying Game”, Columbia Journalism Review) Stephan Glass did not just embarrass himself to the point where he can never be trusted again, but he embarrassed the entire news corporation at The New Republic. It made incoming writers like me and my fellow classmates wonder why they have never even seen the news source as reputable before.
This is because of their article “Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I’m Sorry.” The New Republic wrote a raw, organic and (finally) honest piece about Glass’s experience and everything he contributed to the world of journalism. The piece covers everything from Glass begging his editor Charles Lane not to fire him to ultimately forgiving him at the end.
“Chuck” Lane discusses a whirlwind of investigation into all of Glass’s articles and how they had to review every single “fact” he had ever written. It made them question their entire corporation and fact-checking process as a whole and what to do going forward. The article leaves The New Republic vulnerable and trusting in their audience to stay loyal completely going forward in the future. And considering I have a pretty good knowledge of news sources and their impact on young writers, and having no idea who The New Republic was before watching this film…that speaks volumes.
Conclusion:
I think it is powerful that one man can bring down an entire news source. It is hard to sympathize with Glass because his actions could have been changed. However, the journalism field is so pressure-filled and centered around getting articles uploaded fast efficiently. It can be hard for a writer to come up with an amazing story every week that is truthful and captures the audience, but it needs to be done and that needs to remain constant throughout their entire career.
This movie taught me going forward how important it is to remain completely honest and transparent with every single word I write. This is a lesson I will keep throughout my entire career and implement through every piece I write. I plan to learn from Stephan Glass’s mistakes and to teach others how important it is to keep honest journalism constant.
References:
https://archives.cjr.org/review/the_lying_game.php
https://newrepublic.com/article/120145/stephen-glass-new-republic-scandal-still-haunts-his-law-career