The last movie I saw which is related to Journalism is The Paper. It tackles different issues and real life situations in the world of print media.
A better movie is the Shattered Glass. It is about a journalist, Stephen Glass, who fabricated several stories which were published in the well known magazine The New Republic.
One of the duties of a journalist is to inform the people about the truth. It is deeply wrong to invent or fabricate a story and make it look like a factual, true story. There should always be a clear borderline between journalism and other forms of writing like that of fictional stories. These two cannot be mixed up.
Journalism is different from other professions. It is said to be difficult and more of a sacrifice or duty rather than just a work that pays. It is not the profession for someone who is salary oriented.
Stephen Glass wanted to make a name. He was indeed a talented person, but he used his gifts in a wrong way by cooking different stories that made him look good. (Well at least for a while)
A journalist should not take advantage of his knowledge in writing stories and his privilege to be published.
On the other hand, the movie also showed how fabricated stories found its way on a seasoned and trusted news agency. It showed that even though there are strict processes before a story is published, still there is a huge hole in those processes. Fact verification should not be taken for granted by any news agencies so that fabricated stories would not make its way through.
Today’s online journalism is also flawed. Different news websites want to publish breaking news before anyone else. As a result, some of the facts are not straight or verified.
I also remember some cooked stories that were published online, one of which was the shutting down of Facebook. In the story, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted, making some people believe that Facebook is really shutting down when indeed it is not.
The movie Shattered Glass is a classic and a must see especially by aspiring journalists.
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