The Ethics of Shattered Glass

Charles ‘Chuck’ Lane was by far the most ethical character in the movie, “Shattered Glass.” When former New Republic editor Michael Kelly was on the hot seat, and Chuck was offered his position, he turned it down. He did not want to jeopardize the structure of their team. Eventually, he did take the position after Michael was fired, which caused almost all of the stuff to root against him.

Chuck had to put up with all Stephen Glass’s mess and the entire staff teared him apart for going against Glass, he still took an ethical stance and stayed with it throughout the entire movie. He was the only person that could see right through Stephen’s lies and fabricated articles.

No disrespect to Michael Kelly and his time as editor of the New Republic, but he was not a true editor. Even though Stephen was a young writer and he may have needed protection, Michael should had laid down the hammer much sooner, much like Chuck did. That is another aspect of Chuck that made him an ethical person. He was a true editor, not the kind that Stephen wanted:

“You know, this is not right, Chuck! Okay, I feel really attacked. And you’re my editor. You’re supposed to support me and you’re taking their word against mine? You’re supposed to support me!”

Yeah, Stephen, he is supposed to support you, but he does not need to be unethical in his support. Initially, Chuck did stand up for Stephen when Adam L. Penenberg and Forbes attacked the article, “Hack Heaven,” but when Chuck finally saw the holes, he immediately asked to see the facts. Unfortunately, for Stephen, there were no facts.

When editors have to deal with plagiarism or fabrication, they should immediately reflect on the ethics of journalism. They should set the example for all writers that plagiarizing is wrong and that going against that stance will result in punishment. If something looks suspicious, editors must ask for their writers’ notes and do background research themselves. In the end, nearly everything lies in the hands of the editors to establish right from wrong and teach their writers to do the same.

 

Make money off what you love

When a young boy grows up loving, playing, and even writing about baseball, yet he is unable to play at the collegiate level, there must be a way to stay around the game. Eric Ortiz started playing baseball at three years old and immediately fell in love with America’s greatest pastime. As he grew older, Eric developed a deeper understanding of the game just by teaching himself some of the most sophisticated sides of baseball. He became fascinated with baseball photography, writing, and even the statistics.

As a junior in high school searching for colleges, a man named Jay Baugham informed Eric of the opportunity to study sports management and work in sports at Campbell University. What was once just a leisure activity, he could now get paid for taking baseball photography, writing game recaps, and keeping a scorebook.

Jay connected Eric to Media Services in the Campbell athletic department where he worked for two years as a student worker. Everyone in the department was impressed with the sports knowledge he possessed beyond his years and he knew he wanted to become a sports information director after graduation.

Of course plans change, as Eric made the transition from Campbell to Appalachian State in the fall of 2016. He changed his major from sport management to broadcast journalism to gain more knowledge in the classroom about sports media.

Another Campbell connection led Eric to the Sports Information office at Appalachian, where he has already left an impact on his employers in Boone.

As a junior at Appalachian State, Eric credits his childhood love for baseball and Campbell for setting him on his journey to grow in the sports world. He hopes to learn more each day about sports media and become one of the best sports information directors in the industry.

Hi, I’m Eric

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