The SPJ Code of Ethics has been created in order to ensure the information printed is accurate, fair and thorough; the public relies on it. The first of four principles is, “Seek truth and report it.” Fabrication of any sort leads to a loss of trust and credibility.The highest possible form of inaccuracy is something that doesn’t even exist. Stephen Glass was writing about events that never happened. Glass was not just hurting the people he worked with but also the public was let down.

Journalism, as a career, is supposed to have a sense of integrity. It doesn’t work without it. Although nobody was placed under false light or libeled in Glass’s stores, it was still a major mistake. He knowingly printed lies. His stories really hurt the magazine, but it didn’t stop there. His friends were hurt especially since they had placed trust in him. Society, as a whole, has expectations for journalists. Especially now, more than ever, with all of the different medias to access stories and information frequently. You can’t print made up information and claim it to be factual.

When false facts are reported we begin to question the information which we are presented with. This leaves a major impact on the entire field of journalism as well. As mentioned in the film, 27 of the 41 stories were either partially or entirely fabricated. This makes you skeptic of the entire magazine and staff. It was a terrible thing to do to his coworkers. Throughout the movie he made it seem as if the editor was attacking him when he had been dishonest with him the entire time working there.

I believe the Forbes’ editor had a right to post the story. Even as young as he is I would not protect someone who has been dishonest for that long. It’s one thing to make a minor mistake, but it’s an entire different story in Glass’ situation. His career was shattered as a journalist and I don’t believe he would have been able to recover from that regardless.

In conclusion, the film did a nice job telling the story. I thought it was interesting that the director, Billy Ray, chose to tell the story from Glass’s viewpoint. It adds a different perspective to the story.