There are many ethical issues that can be taken from the movie and story surrounding the former reporter and current lawyer Stephen Glass. His constant fabrications and subsequent lies left many to pick up the pieces of what he believed was an unbreakable wall of deception. In looking into the story of Stephen Glass, there arises two main ethical issues that can be pinpointed to be the main source of his inability to live a truthful and honest life as a journalist. The first ethical issue is the complete invention of sources and quotes that Mr. Glass relied on to pass on his fraudulent stories as fact. He wrote down entire false descriptions, names, and supposed comments in order to best have his work come off as legitimate. The second main ethical issue that I can take from the story of Stephen Glass is not only the invention of information that he would present as facts, but his efforts to create false websites and phone numbers that went to individuals who he claimed to be people they weren’t.
The severity of these two specific non-ethical actions are immense and rivals some of the most egregious actions one can take as a journalist or as a professional in any setting. Stephen Glass did not plagiarize passages from others work but actively and in a premeditated fashion set out to invent stories that he thought would gain him fame, not only in the Washington D.C. region, but from all over. His actions were based not just on a need to fight a deadline but to enhance his profile and earning ability. The invention of facts and those actions themselves, led to the subsequent creation of false websites and phone numbers. Stephen Glass’ unethical behavior, especially in these two areas, led him down a path of one lie after another that continued to grow in size his potential to lie to those that felt as though they were close to him.
The potential reasons are numerous as to why Stephen Glass engaged in the two types of dishonesty that I already discussed. Those actions being of complete fabrication of sources and facts, as well as the invention of false websites and other materials to hide his terrible decision making. It is true that many reporters and students alike, when it is discovered that they have been plagiarizing in some manner, use the excuses that a mistake was made because of the rushed nature of a job or pressure to produce something that will seen as new and exciting. In Mr. Glass’ case he not only came at his day job with the idea to create new content that would be exciting to readers but he decided that he would jump the line of other journalists who were actively trying to find stories. This goes to the very heart of a core principle of journalists that as students we have learned in class. That principle being that there are two unacceptable targets that a journalist must never deceive, those being the audience and their colleagues. In this instance Stephen Glass did both while committing wildly over the top actions to hide his dishonesty.
Stephen Glass’ method of making up sources gets to the heart of the serious problem of deception that he instilled in his everyday job as he worked for the New Republic. It can be questioned why it was that Glass decided to act in this manner when he had a great job with a very respected magazine. While he was a highly thought of reporter, he used his skills in writing and storytelling to fool his audience and editors. In many ways Glass took this specific action of making up entire scenarios where he claimed to be in order to make it appear as though he was better than the rest of his newsroom. His behavior was entirely self-centered but the reasons behind them were equally so. This selfishness is hard to understand considering the ramifications of what occurred after he was caught. One scholarly article that looked at ethical conduct in journalism contends that this selfishness can be linked to the age of the transgressor saying,”Scholars contend that age and education are correlated with heightened awareness of ethical principles. Furthermore, age was associated with greater approval of professional ethical principles among public relations practitioners.” He wanted the recognition that comes with reporters that break stories that no one has thought or dives into stories that many reporters don’t go, however, he didn’t want to put in the work. The principle that was injured at the heart of this first set of actions is that Glass hurt the credibility of himself and the magazine that he worked for. Due to his completely false assertions in the paper the audience will now no longer be able to fully trust his future work. This type of repercussion was something that he set aside because he believed he wouldn’t be caught. That’s another point that was discussed in class that would have been helpful to Glass. That would have been to understand that many times when one engages in unethical behavior they are not caught right away. This is especially true when the perpetrator, Glass, himself used to be a fact check for the magazine. Stephen Glass, due to his past occupation, disregarded the principles and values of a journalist that should have guided him in his responsibility to readers and the faculty around him. It is important for those around an individual to have faith that a person is being honest, but one of the many reasons Glass took this action of fabrication is because he used people’s assumption that he respected certain values and principles as a journalist against them.
The second issue from Stephen Glass’ behavior that brings about a certain ethical message is that he went as far as to create a false website, business card, and phone numbers that went to answering machines. This level of actions is antithetical to journalism and the mission it serves, which is to be accountable to the people in the community. In these specific actions it is clear why Stephen decided to completely create this false evidence. It was to try and save his credibility after having been caught that caused these impulses from Glass. It is however, another affront to the principles and values of journalists that were the results of what occurred. It is expected that journalists, one will not lie, but when confronted with someone saying that they are wrong they have the evidence to back it up. To a journalist transparency matters, and in the community many times journalists see it as a point of pride to be able to point to hard evidence to assuage any concern that there may be misconduct. Having the personal conviction to fight for the truth is at the core of journalism. In an article in reaction to the Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley journalistic scandals it reads,”Usually, journalistic courage gets measured in battles covered or politicians confronted. We seldom recognize another kind of courage that is at least as valuable—the courage to buck institutional conformity when matters of principle are on the line.” Stephen Glass did not care that his actions would in the future make the public pause to even consider the legitimacy of any hard evidence, like contacts, that would be presented to acquit a journalist. Journalists that are trustworthy go out and seek stories that can be verified to both the public and their respective companies, and it is a value that a journalist would avoid any source that doesn’t look completely certain. They wouldn’t let alone create evidence and schemes to try and make the accusers look like fools. While Glass’ reasoning behind creating websites, business cards, and phone numbers was entirely meant to allow him to avoid any trouble he at the same time cost other’s their benefit of the doubt when they may present evidence that seeks to absolve them of any wrongdoing.
When facing these types of principle and value challenges in journalism, it is important to acknowledge the impact that a person’s actions may have on others. It is vastly important to remember that although the short term benefits may have impact it is not worth the long term ramifications of the negative consequences. To Stephen Glass, his invention of sources and stories would allow him to face new heights in the profession that he had always dreamed about pursuing. His actions would make him stand above the rest and force others to see him in a positive light. While the short term accolades surely made him feel good, once he was caught it is quite easy to see that he’d rather have his job back without the glorification as opposed to his reputation and work being tarnished. It is crucial to remember the mission of journalism if you choose that profession, as a scholarly article about ethics states,”Good journalism serves the truth, requiring fair and accurate reporting while providing context to a string of events to help others understand the world.” Stephen Glass’ problem was that he remembered only to serve himself instead of the community whose trust he was supposed to earn. That is why it may be at times tough to balance what you know to be the right way to go versus going against your ethics to achieve what you want. In the circumstances where it may be easy to stray from the appropriate path it is imperative that you stay true to your ethical decision-making process while embodying the values and principles that allow community members to trust and rely on good journalists.
There are only so many outcomes that can occur once one is caught in the type of situation that Stephen Glass found himself in. Instead of running away from the misconduct that you took part in or engaging in more unethical behavior to hide what you did, I think that in Stephen Glass’ situation or any situation it is important to meet the consequences head on. While Glass lied not only to his editors and readers he rightfully should be punished for them. I think that a possible solution to the actions of Glass would for him obviously to lose his job, but in addition he should be forced to run an ad in the magazine explaining how he let the public and journalism down. Stephen Glass’ reputation has already been incredibility hurt by the actions he took part in but another sanction should be that any future employer, whether that be in his law career or whether he chooses to go back into journalism, should be informed of his past transgressions and put safeguards in place to prevent him from repeating his actions. It is difficult to find an appropriate solution to this unfortunate chain of events, but in many ways the loss of reputation for Stephen Glass’ is the worst consequence of all.
There can be many lessons learned from this situation that journalists and everyday individuals can take into their lives. For me I see the destruction that a short term dishonest solution can have on the overall life of an individual. While Glass did benefit from his nefarious activities he lost the respect of those that cared about him and worked with him. It can be easy to take the easy way out in life, with activities in school or at a job, but this story has reinforced for me the need to do things the right way so that when you get a great payoff it is not necessary to worry about whether you will get caught for cutting corners. I also learned that it is important to own up to mistakes and wrongdoings you have done when it is discovered. While Stephen Glass would have most certainly lost his job and his reputation, by avoiding lying and dodging what was the truth Glass could have saved at least some of the dignity that he had. It is possible after hearing this story to have the resolve to move forward with integrity and good ethics in order to live the most satisfying life, surrounded by people who truly respect you.
References:
Detenber, B. H., Cenite, M., Malik, S., & Neo, R. L. (2012). Examining Education and Newsroom Work Experience as Predictors of Communication Students’ Perceptions of Journalism Ethics. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 67(1), 45–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077695811428884
Ferré, H. (2008). Ethics Should Be Measured in Proper Context. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 23(2), 164–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/08900520801909467
Freivogel, M. W. (2004). Newsroom Views. Journalism Studies, 5(4), 571–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700412331296482