Maria Blanc Zoco

Dr. Datcher

Publishing a Journal

February 9, 2015

After watching Bill Ray´s movie Shutter Glass, I started thinking about the credibility we give to certain news the media portrays. Is everything reliable? Why should we trust a certain source instead of a less popular one? I believe the power of reporters and writers is to convey the truth, if such truth is violated by the authors then what they portray is a living lie.  Throughout the movie I was astonished by the stubbornness  Stephen Glass portrayed in relation to his work. Not until the end of the film did he admit that he was not telling the truth. I believe that sometimes we are too blind with the popularity of certain news that we talk ourselves into believing them. An example of this living lies are tabloids. We tend to believe in tabloids because of who they talk about and the pictures they show. However none of the information is usually true. I believe that lying in a professional environment is extremely concerning since the effect of the lie does not only stay in the establishment but it also has repercussions outside. In other words, lying in a work environment creates a snow ball effect. In the movie, Stephen started getting his articles published and publication after publication he lied until his secret was exposed. A lie can take a person far but not for a long time. A vivid example are the cases of corruptions within the government. We vote because we believe in the leaders that will make our country great. However, by stealing money they prove that the values and morals they show through their political campaign are non-existent. Another example is that of Lance Armstrong. For years he was idolized as one of our country´s best cyclist, he won seven Tour de France and was an olympic medallist. After his 2011 official retirement many speculations regarding doping surrounded him. It was not until his interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013 that he publicly admitted his drug use during  the seven tours. As a result, his olympic medal got taken away as well as the title for the seven tours. Just like Stephen Glass, Lance developed a long term lie that ended up being exposed by other sources. Both men created a world where people preached them and saw them as important characters in both the writing and the sports industry. As a result of their lies both men become frowned upon.  In conclusion, both situations show how lying on the job does not only jeopardize a person´s career but also their placement on society before and after.