As an aspiring journalist I have high hopes and goals set for me. But would I lie to get to the top? I think not. Not only would I be disappointing those around me, but I am almost 100% sure my grandpa would 'give me a whippin' as they say. As a child I was taught that lying was a 'no-no' and it hurts others. I took that in stride and told little lies here and there... "Yes I did my homework Dad". But to lie about the work I write, or to make something up completely?? That is just way out of my league. That takes more time to do than to actually write the story yourself.
Stephan Glass apparently thought it was the easy way out. After watching the movie Shattered Glass, I am amazed that someone would go to such lengths to make sure they are number one and to have people like them. It is obvious that Mr. Glass was (and maybe still is) a people pleaser. He needs constant reassurance that he isn't in trouble or to make sure no one is mad at him. He also undertakes going after a law degree because it is what his parents want.
While I can understand why Mr. Glass fabricated over 25 different stories while working for The New Republic, it does not make it morally right. As a journalist I think that you are taking an unspoken oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. Journalists are the eyes and ears of the people and it their job to make sure the people know what is really going on. The stories Stephan Glass made up not only damaged his credibility but the credibility of the magazine. Once you lose the peoples trust it is hard to gain it back. By lying and falsifying the things he did, Stephen Glass broke the oath of a journalist.
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