Shattered Glass (2003) displays the difficult situation that aspiring reporters must consider when writing a proper story. Stephen Glass, a reporter for The New Republic, was caught up in being the new, famous young writer and forgot one of the biggest aspects of being a journalist and reporter, not to lie and fabricate your story. Fabrication is defined as “the action or process of manufacturing or inventing something; a lie” (Merriam-Webster) and directly connects to ethics in journalism. Lying, looking for a short cut for stardom, fabricating quotes, sources, and the overall story, are all unethical moves Stephen made. These unethical decisions led to the fall of Stephen’s journalism career, something foreshadowed when he imagined himself in the classroom during the movie.
Looking at the historical perspective on the issue, this movie pertains precisely to the case of Janet Cooke’s story Jimmy’s World (Jimmy’s World, 1980), when pondering ethics in journalism. Janet Cooke wrote a story about an eight-year-old heroin addict, whom was not a real child, and a made up story in general. Her fabricated story cost her her journalism career and reputation, comparable to Stephen, as he lost his career. In both cases, whether or not they believed they were being ethical in their decisions to compromise these stories, the job of a reporter and journalists is to follow the SPJ Code of Ethics, seeking the truth and reporting it, minimizing harm, acting independently, and being accountable, all aspects in which they did not follow (Lecture 4.2).
If I were put in Stephen’s situation, I would have done things completely different. In no way, shape or form, would I have fabricated any story, let alone more than half my stories. To be honest, when I sat there watching the movie, I thought to myself, why? Why is he doing this to not only himself, but also others that he is misleading? All I though about was the SPJ code of Ethics when watching the movie, and how not one aspect was followed. Stephen did not seek the truth and report it, he made it stories and lied; he didn’t minimize harm, he inflicted harm on himself, his reputation, The New Republic, and those he reported to; yes he did act independently, but in the nature that a journalists should not perform, working alone on stories and making them up and finally; he was not accountable, he was a liar and untrustworthy.
I believe that this movie has an enormous impact on journalism. The movie outlines a situation that journalists should never put themselves in, fabricating stories. Fabrication is not tolerable in journalism and never will be, or else what would the point of a journalist or reporter be? Their jobs would become obsolete because it would give everyone the freedom to make stories up and publish them. The movie also justifies the SPJ Code of Ethics and shows journalists that following the code will only keep you out of trouble. It is unethical to lie, plain and simple, and Shattered Glass (2003) puts a point of emphasis on unethical decisions.
Sources
Course Lecture 4.2 – Journalism Ethical Framework
Fabrication. (2015) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fabricate
Jimmy’s World. (1980) http://www2.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/lit/litjour/spg2002/cooke.htm
Shattered Glass. (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323944/