This is my favorite movie thus far. I was hooked from the start when Stephen Glass mused on what he values in journalism and sharing peoples’ stories. And you know my ears perked up when his teacher mentioned he freelanced with Rolling Stone.
But his character went downhill from there. Stephen Glass was shady.
Glass would constantly deny any affiliation to other media outlets. His constant response of “Oh, it’s nothing. I don’t know why they’re calling. Send it to voicemail,” would be comedic if it wasn’t sad how tangled in lies and in denial he was.
I don’t believe it is unethical to freelance for other publications while working already working at one. I just think it’s really weird to deny it.
It is flat out unethical to make up details of a story and have your brother pretend to be a source, however.
In the SPJ Code of Ethics, it says journalists should “take responsibility for the accuracy of their work.” Glass didn’t take any responsibility at all. He covered up lies with more lies. I think something must have been messed up in his head. I just can’t fathom how someone could go through so many hurdles to produce something that was pure fiction. Writing fiction takes a lot of work. I think going out and interacting with real people isn’t as hard. You might not get fantastic, incredible stories every time, but the point of journalism isn’t to tell epic tales. It’s to report the truth.