Shattered Glass, is a movie based on the real life and career of journalist Stephen Glass. The film highlights the ethical problems that Glass faced during his short-lived career at Washington DC based paper, The New Republic.Glass’ lack of integrity and his use of deceit lead to his ultimate demise as a journalist.
Throughout his career, Glass fabricated parts or entire stories in twenty-seven out of his forty-one pieces. He felt the need to add fake details to make his stories more interesting. Glass used his captivating and charismatic personality to deceive his writers, editors, and readers. Both integrity and honesty are vital attributes for an employable journalist.
Glass’ lies began when he wanted to make his stories better. His intention was to add the perfect quote, or detail that would make an otherwise boring story jump off of the page. However, details turned into fake events, websites, references, and businesses, eventually it was hard to separate the truth from the piles of lies. In today’s competitive world, cheating often comes from the pressure to be the best, Ryerson University’s Ivor Shapiro explained the scenario by saying “one such pattern could be the rising value given to narrative detail and story- telling values in today’s reporting,” (Shapiro,261). This is where integrity comes into place. Someone who has strong moral standards will not collapse under the pressure of the work place. It is much better to fail trying than it is to lie and temporarily succeed.
In Stephen Glass’ case, his lies and deceit came from his fear of failure. He desired constant praise from his colleges “self-esteem and social acceptance are two factors. Saltz (2004) observes that liars ‘lie to protect themselves, look good, gain financially or socially and avoid punishment’” (Spurlock, 73). Throughout to film, Glass was seeking approval from others both in and out of the workplace. It is obvious that Glass lacked ethical values. However, his constant need for approval related to Mill’s Principle of Utility. Mill’s ideas were to seek the greatest happiness from the greatest number of people. Glass believed that his fabricated stories would be liked by the most people. This satisfaction constantly fed his lies and deceit.
After watching Shattered Glass,and learning about the career of Stephen Glass, I learned the consequences of unethical journalism. This was an eye-opening way to learn that every detail has to be a reliable fact. As a journalist, it is our job to relay the truth to the readers. The excitement of the story should not come before the quality and honesty of the writing.
Shapiro, I. (2006). Why They Lie: Probing the Explanations for Journalistic Cheating. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31(1), 261–266. http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=20591083&site=ehost-live&scope=site
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.http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=125698524&site=ehost-live&scope=site