Part 1. Situation Definition:
The film Shattered Glass is a true story based off of Stephen Glass, a now former journalist. The movie is about Glass’ time as a journalist for The New Republic and the scandal involving the fabrication of his articles.
In the film there were many ethical issues that arose. Stephen Glass not only fabricated majority of his pieces, but also lied and deceived his colleagues; putting the credibility of the publication at risk. Glass went to great lengths to prevent himself from getting caught in his world of lies; but in the end did.
Part 2. Analysis:
One of the ethical issues presented in Shattered Glass was Glass’ fabricated stories. Glass had fabricated 27 out of 41 stories during his time at the New Republic. So why would Glass fabricate majority of his stories? In the article, Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams, Jefferson Spurlock states, “Self-esteem and social acceptance are two factors”. Glass didn’t fabricate his stories because he enjoyed lying to everyone, but he enjoyed the thrill of people liking his stories.
Fabrication is very much frowned upon in journalism, unfortunately journalists continue to do so. “Sometimes reporters decide to push the envelope a bit,” states Spurlock. It is when fabrication occurs, that the audience tends to think of journalists as less credible and untrustworthy.
Another ethical issue presented was, Glass lying and deceiving to get his way to the top, in the process he hurt the credibility of the publication. He not only fabricated stories, but got away with it for some time because he created fake sources. In the article Media Law and Ethics, Davis states, “The media voluntarily serve the public through an unwritten agreement”. Davis pointing out that as reporters, it is our job to prevent false stories from going out into the world. If the fact checkers at The New Republic couldn’t find false information, then why should they be deemed credible?
Glass put his publication in jeopardy and is not an example of a true reporter continues. In the article Davis stresses the importance behind not lying to the public, because then the credibility is lost.
Glass took advantage of his somewhat gullible audience and ran with it. It is important to not only tell the truth, but be able to detect the truth. Unfortunately, Glass let the fame get to him and continued on with his fabricated stories until he was caught.
Part 3. Conclusion:
In journalism it is very important to only report the truth, and if your unable to do so, you don’t belong in the field. It’s not only devastating to the publication to learn that they are covering up fabrication unknowingly, but having the audience find out they were being lied to.
Fabrication is unethical and should never be practiced in journalism. It can destroy credibility, which leads to ruined careers. Stephen Glass crossed a line and, in my opinion, did unforgivable things. Glass allowed his selfishness to take over, ruining the credibility of himself and many others in the process.
Part 4. References:
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.
Conley, D. (2009). Media Law and Ethics: Intersection of The New York Times Code of Ethics and Cases. Conference Papers — National Communication Association, 1.