The film, Shattered Glass, artfully demonstrates the consequences of fabrication and unethical work in the journalism industry. The movie’s protagonist, Steven Glass, cracks under the demanding pressures of being a journalist at The New Republic, a prestigious magazine company, and turns to fabrication and falsehood to satisfy his peers and audience with compelling yet untruthful stories. Two evident issues in Glass’s actions are deception and his lack of integrity.
These issues are imperative for journalists to stay clear of throughout their careers in order to provide ethical stories for the world to read, a duty Glass failed to deliver during his time at The New Republic. Glass carried a charismatic persona and always searched for recognition and appraisal for his work by his peers. Once writing one captivating story, Glass felt the need to continuously provide stories that would please his audience and co-workers, even if that meant he had to lie to do so.
Aaron Quinn explains the psychology behind journalists and the development of their character. “With this moral psychology, factors such as emotions, motives, and intentions, whose interdependence with the standard impartial or universal concerns of moral principles, culminate to create a complete professional character” (Quinn).
Quinn’s perspective on the interdependence of the many factors that a journalist’s character is comprised of helped me comprehend Glass’s many reasons for his poor actions. His emotions were filled with the stress of needing to create newsworthy stories that his peers and audience would enjoy. His motives were to be an acclaimed journalist whose work was loved by everyone. All of these aspects of Glass’s being triggered his poor choice to turn to fabrication. This broke Glass’s integrity which damaged his reputation as a journalist.
Moreover Glass deceived both his audience and employees of The New Republic in creating so many untruthful stories. He was a beloved and respected employee at one point in time however through his continuous deception, Glass damaged his esteemed reputation. We learn as journalism students, that deception is one of the worst things you can do to your audience as a journalist. According to a scholarly article written by Dan Bolton the multiple steps journalist take to determine what falls under deception or not are discussed. “In making their decisions, journalists are told to weigh the consequences, the effect on journalistic credibility, the motivation for their actions, the deceptive acts in relation to their editorial missions, the legal implications of the actions, and the consistency of their reasoning” (Bolton). Glass clearly ignored these approaches and took the easy and unethical way out to fulfill his responsibilities as a journalist.
While many journalists today face pressure to achieve their responsibilities, cheating the system to make a deadline or construct a memorable story is not the right approach. The story of Steven Glass firmly illustrates the various consequences a journalist will face if he or she resorts to fabrication to exceed his or her obligations. If I were struggling with personal stresses within my journalism career, I would stick to my integrity no matter what and if needed, I would either ask for an extension or simply just push myself harder to find newsworthy material rather than concocting false content. Doing so will allow myself to keep an honest relationship between myself,my boss, and the audience. And while asking for an extension may seem intimidating to some, it will allow the journalist to remain ethical and honest.
References
Bolton, D. (1994). Code of ethics. Quill, 82(9), 42. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9411283940&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Quinn, A. (2007). Moral Virtues for Journalists. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 22(2/3), 168–186. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1080/08900520701315764