Shattered Glass is the true story of what can happen in such a competitive field, like journalism, where people are willing to do literally anything to be successful. Stephen Glass succumbs to many of the ethical dilemmas young journalists face across the world. He deceived both his readers and colleagues to further his career. Among all the mistakes he made during his time at The New Republic two stand out the most to me. His lack of honesty and lack of accountability were the biggest issues he displayed.
It’s pretty simple as to why Glass went to the lengths he did, manipulating all of those around him, to write hos fabricated story. He felt he had to be as successful as possible as quickly as possible. Now, he could have felt this way for a number of reasons. He obviously felt he needed to appease his parents as they desperately wanted him to be a lawyer, it is possible he felt if he became such a well respected journalist it could make up for that. Glass also liked the fact that he was so popular in the office. While everyone else was so stressed out over deadlines, he remained the steady calm presence.
Obviously, he goes about this the completely wrong way. Instead of just being the best journalist he can possibly be and working on stories that have true value to the public, he lies. He simply makes stuff up that people will like to read. This is a huge issue for both journalists and readers alike. There needs to be certain amount of trust between the two parties. Journalists have a duty to report what the truth is to better society as a whole. When one person breaks that trust, it can lead to a downward spiral of what journalism really is.
In my opinion, he was working at a place like The New Republic for all the wrong reasons. The fact the people in power were not only reading his stuff but being influenced by it was terrible for him. He felt he had to impress them and the only way to do that was by fabricating his stories. When talking about journalism Sandra L. Borden and Chad Tew say, “Journalists pursue knowledge through a discipline of providing epistemologically defensible standards for creating and communicating knowledge about the social world. Among these standards are reliability, truthfulness, and independence.” (Borden & Tew) Journalists are held to a high stander and Glass obviously failed to meet it.
To make matters even worse, when finally got caught, he continued the lies. He refused to be accountable for his own wrongdoings, and tried to keep the deception going until the last possible minute. Irwin Gratz says, “Journalism organizations generally recognize this principle of accountability by admitting mistakes and correcting them promptly, as called for in SPJ’s Code of Ethics. Most also publish criticism of their news efforts contained in letters to the editor.” (Gratz) Obviously, Glass did not act accountably. When his mistakes were brought up, he kept the lies up and refused to own up.
Stephen Glass should have never been working for such an influential publication. When a journalist is under pressure for whatever reason, they should never even think about turning to just making up stories. He deserved the punishment he got, in no world would a mere suspension be a suitable punishment for that man. Anyone who fabricates their stories and then continuously tries to defend the lies they’ve been telling simply cannot be a journalist. It taught me that in any profession, honesty should always be the number one option. Lying is never going to work out in the long run. And if you mess up, just own up to it. Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone is willing to learn from them.
Works Cited
Borden, S. L., & Tew, C. (2007, December 5). The Role of Journalist and the Performance of Journalism: Ethical Lessons From “Fake” News (Seriously). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08900520701583586?src=recsys
Gratz, I. (n.d.). SPJ Ethics Committee Position Papers – Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved from https://www.spj.org/ethics-papers-accountability.asp