Situation Definition
The practice of deception in journalism is a morally grey area. Journalists can go undercover and take on a fake identity in pursuit of a story. Reporters can secretly film individuals without the individual’s consent. These types of deception, as discussed in lecture, are acceptable in the news industry if they are the only means of discovering a truth and, in hindsight, do more good than harm. The type of deception exemplified in the film Shattered Glass on the other hand, did much more harm than good.
Based on a true story, the film Shattered Glass follows the career of a journalist named Stephen Glass who was known for his gripping and entertaining news pieces. At the end of the film, the audience learns that Glass had fabricated 27 out of the 41 stories he wrote, instantly discrediting him as a writer. Glass, like other journalists, had used a form of deception to tell a story, although unlike the previous examples mentioned, what Glass did was not ethical under the standards of journalism for two reasons: he was not seeking the truth in his stories and he deceived both his colleagues and his readers.
Analysis
From the start of his indiscretions, Stephen Glass knew writing made-up stories, having them published and then lying to those around him was unethical, but continued to do so anyways. Glass had not made up all his stories, as indicated above, so what compelled Glass to stray so far away from some of the basic ethic principles of journalism?
Dr. Jefferson Spurlock at Troy University in Alabama indicated in his article Why Journalists Lie: The Troublesome Times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Brian Williams that social acceptance and self-esteem are two reasons for a person to lie. Based on the film’s portrayal of the story and the interview with Glass in CBS’s 60 Minutes shown in lecture, it was evident that Glass had both of these reasons.
In the interview, when asked why he continued to write his seemingly riveting stories, Glass said, “I loved the electricity of people liking my stories. I loved going story conference meetings and telling people what my story was going to be, and seeing the room excited. I wanted every story to be a home run”(Spurlock, 2016, p. 3). Glass wanted acceptance from those around him, whether it be from his viewers or his co-workers. Once Glass had that acceptance, he didn’t want to let go of it.
Glass was able to sneak several lies into his mostly true news stories early on in his endeavor. His success in not being caught most likely provided Glass with the confidence to continue lying, except on a more grand scale. He created fake websites, phone numbers and events all to live up to the fake reputation he created for himself.
All these lies were in an attempt to seek approval and to be the best; for every story to be a home run. In an article from the academic journal Journalism Studies, author Margaret Wolf Freivogel asserted that journalists can be more driven by success than uncovering the facts, “Sometimes the will to succeed is stronger than the facts at hand. And so, we get Kelley’s invented description of a decapitated head rolling down the street with eyes still blinking, or Blair’s elegiac but fictitious portrait of tobacco fields outside Jessica Lynch’s house”(Freivogel, 2004, p.1). Noting two other fraudulent journalists, Freivogel’s argument indicates that what happened to Glass is not uncommon among journalists and they can sometimes be more focused on getting an entertaining story than a factual one.
Conclusion
In the field of journalism, one must always put personal ambitions to the side for the greater good; to provide the public with the truth. One also must assume that all others working in this field feel the same way. If a journalist were to try to deceive either the viewer or a co-worker for any reason, that journalist’s credentials would be put into consideration.
If I were put in a situation where a co-worker or employee were trying to deceive anybody for reasons other than to obtain the truth, I would have a serious discussion with him or her about what it means to be an ethical journalist. I believe in second chances, but if I were the employer for Stephen Glass, I would have fired him without hesitation. The public and the news industry deserves better than Stephen Glass.
References
Freivogel, M. W. (2004). Newsroom Views. Journalism Studies, 5(4), 571–572. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1080/14616700412331296482
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://search.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=125698524&site=ehost-live&scope=site