Shattered Glass, the 2003 film written by Billy Ray, is a prime example of how journalists can fall into the trap of unethical and fraudulent reporting. This movie is a true story about Stephen Glass who was a journalist at The New Republic. The fact that Glass made up twenty-seven out of forty-one of his published articles shows how much people will do to succeed in this business that prides itself on hard, ethical and truthful work. Out of all the mistakes Glass made, the two that stood out to me the most were his lack of honesty and his lack of trying to make things right and come clean as a journalist for his unethical actions
Stephen Glass portrayed the perfect role of a liar. More than half of the stories he covered were lies and fabrications just so he could finish a job with ease and little to no effort. I think Glass did this all to obtain the benefits of what a true and ethical journalist receives, despite his unethical actions. Fabricating information and his lack of honesty is an example of breaking the ethical principle of seeking the truth. Glass did not seek the truth because he added false information and reported facts inaccurately. In the article, “Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams,” author Jefferson Spurlock (2016) tells us people lie because they yearn for self-esteem and social acceptance, therefore lying protects themselves so they can gain the financial and social benefits while avoiding the consequences. Clearly, this information lines right with Glass’s actions.
Stephen glass was not properly being accountable for his actions because he had so many chances to come clean about it rather he chose not to and became more of an unethical journalist. This side of Glass goes hand in hand with his reason for lying. Glass clearly had self-esteem issues because to this day he has not fully admitted to all of the lies he has told. This issue is something that should not be brought into the work place and influence Glass’s career, even though he let it happen, it should never involve getting in the way of his duty to tell society the truth in the news. In the article, “Trust Me, I’m a Journalist: Shattered Glass and the Crisis of Trust in Liberal Journalism,” McNair (2009) mentions that in today’s liberal scene of journalism, now more than ever, there must be trust in journalism’s reliability, accuracy, and honesty. If people like Glass are in the newsroom then society isn’t safe. If Glass can’t be accountable and admit to his unethical reporting, that says a lot about his character and the reality of what some journalists see or go through themselves.
The recommendations I have if I faced issues similar to Stephen Glass is to be transparent. Don’t lie or cheat to get ahead. I know it might seem easy, but instead, be prepared in advance for the stories you know are coming. Journalism is a fast moving industry, and for journalists it is face paced, sometimes a story is due at the end of a day. Therefore, if someone isn’t able to handle it I recommend addressing the issue with whomever is in charge. It will go over so much better than serving the public false information. In the end, it is clear that cheating to get ahead will never work out in your favor.
Shattered Glass is one of the best movies to show journalism students what goes on in the real world of journalism. It is also a great example of how not to act as a journalist. If I were to take away any lessons from this movie, it would be to never fabricate information and always be honest with not only my co-workers but myself. If I can’t handle something I need to speak up rather than cheating to get ahead. The public people are journalist’s main priority and if they aren’t serving them correctly, it could create havoc for more than just yourself.
Work Cited
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. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=125698524&site=ehost- live&scope=site.
McNair, B. (2009). Trust Me, I’m a Journalist: Shattered Glass and the Crisis of Trust in Liberal Journalism. Conference Papers — International Communication Association, 1. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http:// direct=true&db=ufh&AN=45286991&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
