Situation Definition:
We are taught in school the importance of academic integrity, being honest and credible in your work, and ethics in the media. Stephen Glass went against all of that. Instead, his unethical actions brought dishonesty and deceit through the fake news that he created. When he was fabricating these stories, he was falsely informing the public for his own personal gain to be recognized as a great journalist. His dishonesty and deceit ruined his journalist credibility and caused us as readers to question more in what we choose to read and believe today.
Analysis:
I think that Stephen Glass did this at first out of panic. He was probably worried about getting a story done on time and made something up. In his head he was probably thinking “It will just be this one time.” But, as we saw, it turned into several different times. I think he did this because he saw how well his stories were doing and how much recognition he was getting for them. The biggest journalistic value he broke was honesty. The number one rule in journalism is to tell the truth and provide credible sources, but Glass consciously did neither of those things. Not only did his decisions affect him, but also his co-workers and The New Republic’s reputation.
In Spurlock’s, Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams, he analyzes several journalists that had been caught in lies with the stories they were selling. One of these journalists being Glass himself. His article leaves the big question, “Why do people lie?” His answer for this is self-esteem and social acceptance. We watched this in the 60 minute interview with Glass, where he explicitly states how much he thrived off of the attention he was getting. This article further supports the idea that the more journalists and reporters lie, the more their credibility declines.
This brings into question, what is in store for the future of these journalists that ruined their credibility? Johnson responded to this in his article, Sackcloth and Ashes: Stephen Glass and the Good Moral Character Requirement’s Problem with Remorse. He discusses how after this story of Glass blew up, he still went on to become a lawyer and graduate from Georgetown Law. He analyzes Glass’s moral character and how this affected his future plans. “His clients and employers would know of Glass’s past deeds and Glass would have to be that much better of a lawyer in order to attract and retain them” (Johnson 799). Glass faced difficulties in being allowed to practice law in California based on his moral character, this goes to show that the decisions he had made at The New Republic he will carry with him forever.
In college, we all have faced the stress and pressure that work brings onto us. Lying is something that can solve our issues momentarily, but is something that will impact our credibility in the long haul. I will admit when I have been faced with these difficult situations I have lied in the past in order to make my life easier. I don’t think these have been ethical decisions on my part by any means, and it is important for myself and my peers to analyze the situations we are in to see if lying is really worth it if it means damaging your future reputation/career for life. After learning from my experiences, if I were to have been in Glass’ shoes, I would have told the truth because in the end the momentary success and fame is not worth ruining your career, relationships, and life over.
Conclusion:
Overall, I have come to learn the importance of honesty. I expose myself to media every day and knowing the lies that have transpired in the past has caused my trust in what I read/watch to decline. I have become very skeptical of the information I take in. Being this way, I know that I don’t want to make my future audience be this way. I want to be completely transparent with everything I do, whether that be the good, the bad, or the ugly. After Glass fabricated his first story, he should have been transparent with his boss on his notes. Although it still would have hurt his reputation, it wouldn’t have hurt it in the extent that it did after the several stories he curated down the line. I think that if he were to have been honest when his boss’ were questioning him and he couldn’t keep up with the lies, it would have shown that he still had a moral conscience. Instead of fessing up to what he did, he just continued to tell more lies. Glass’ story is a lesson to be learned by those who enter the media world and how important it is to tell the truth.
References:
Johnson, Michael. “Sackcloth and Ashes: Stephen Glass and the Good Moral Character Requirement’s Problem with Remorse.” Sept. 2013.
Spurlock, Jefferson. “Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams.” 2016.