Shattered Glass Extension Activity

Writer/director Billy Ray calls the film Shattered Glass “a cautionary tale about the difference between being a good reporter and a hot one.”

My hope is that people who see Shattered Glass will look at the craft of journalism from a different perspective. The New Republic, like The New York Times, is not an institution … it is a staff of people who in charge of an institution, and those people can have good judgment or bad judgment. Stephen Glass took advantage of their bad judgment as well as their good nature.

Where do you stand on the ethical questions raised by the film? How did Shattered Glass change your perspective on the journalistic profession? 

Before you answer this question, take some time to investigate the journalist assigned to you below. Gather the facts surrounding the controversy involving the journalist. What exactly did the journalist do to get in hot water? What were the consequences for the journalist and for his employer? How did this journalist’s transgression compare what that journalist did with what Stephen Glass did?

Post the paragraph reporting your findings about your assigned journalist then go back and answer the larger question I asked at the beginning.

Brian Williams – Anna A.

Jack Kelley – Damaris B.

Janet Cooke – Preshus B.

Jayson Blair – Franny B.

Johann Hari – Claire C.

Jonah Lehrer – Bailee H.

Judith Miller – Alexus L.

Julie Amparano – Ada M.

Michael Finkel – Audrey S.

Mike Barnicle – Sam S.

Patricia Smith – Steven T.

Ruth Shalit – Sam T.

Tom Kummer – Grace S.

Walter Duranty – Jack V.