Shattered Glass was a whirlwind movie based on a true story about an upbeat and motivated young journalist named Stephen Glass who was making it big with his charismatic and interesting stories. As the plot expands, the audience finds out that all of his articles were either manipulated or falsified. The stories were either all made up or most of the facts faulty. This brought up two main issues for me. First his deception, to not only the audience of his stories but also his close personal relationships. Second his lack of integrity.
Integrity in journalism is no small fact. Research done by Satendra Nandan in the particle media Freedom with Integrity and Ethics stated that, “freedom of the press, academic freedom and parliamentary privilege, are advanced and strengthened by those who practice these with professional ethics and personal integrity and conscientiously deepen public trust, individually and collectively. When the institutions are diminished, everybody is diminished.” A key word in this quote is diminished. Stephen Glass diminished not only his integrity, but also the integrity of his colleagues and more importantly the New Republic.Stephen glass had a responsibility to share to the world the truth. He had a duty to keep everyone in the know and to not base his stories on fictional events. As written in this research article, there is a right to freedom and freedom of the press, but this does not lookover the right of citizens to have a truthful and honest flow of information. Deception is also a factor here. Stephen Glass went through great lengths to keep these stories “alive”, even making up its own website and voicemail box! In Stanley B. Cunningham’s Getting it Right: Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” as Theory Deteriorationit expands on the ethical principle that was discussed in class. The “Golden Mean” can be used as a map for journalism in showing how to uphold “fairness, balance, and moderation in coverage.” Stephen Glass did none of these things. He used his skills in being social able and likeable to his advantage and at others expense.
Making this personal I understand at times where Stephen Glass comes from. He is insecure about being liked and is addicted to the feeling of everyone in the room applauding and noticing his work. He likes the feeling of being smart and a leader in the journalist community. Where I loose compassion is when he plays the victim. He had a meltdown in the beginning of his lies unraveling every time someone would accuse him of a small mistake he made. He worked tirelessly to blame other people for his faults and only 4 years after he was uncovered did he make an apology (this also not being completely sincere). This makes it hard for me to believe that he has room to change and better himself if he can’t accept and take responsibility for what he has done.
While Stephen Glass was a fantastic writer and had a real talent for grasping his audience, part of (if not the most important) role of being a journalist is to be truthful and honest. You have an obligation to the people and no amount of talent can excuse anything but doing that. Stephen Glass is an example of someone who is lost in his ways integrity and ownership and is someone we should all look at to not emulate.
Cunningham, Stanley B. (2009) Getting it Right: Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” as Theory Deterioration. Journal of Mass Media Ethics.14:1 pp. 5-15.
Nandan, Satendra (2014). Media Freedom with Integrity and Ethics. Pacific Journalism Review.20(2) pp. 17-22.