Name: Alejandro Cabrera

“Shattered Glass” Worksheet

Pretend you are one of Stephen Glass’ colleagues in the beginning of the movie.
1. List one reason why you might admire Glass. Explain your answer.

Glass was a very funny, and smart kid that always had a ton of stories under his belt. I think the
number 1 reason that I would admire him would be his passion. Because he always kept on
writing better and better stories and never giving up.

2. List two reasons why you might suspect Stephen Glass of being unethical.
Explain your answers.

1) He created stories which can mislead hundreds of thousands of people, which is pretty
unethical.
2) He did not consider his fellow writers that worked in The New Republic that could
potentially lose their entire livelihood due to Glass’s mistake.

Pretend you are a fact-checker for “The New Republic.” Below are two excerpts from
Glass articles. Read each one and underline the details that you think need
independent verification (someone else to check the facts). Then, in the space
provided, explain how you would go about uncovering the real facts. Where would
you look, who would you interview, etc. to double check the facts?

3. One Chicago-area school for Santas featured a 144-page textbook that

provided instruction on everything from going to the bathroom in a Santa suit
to rules on how to touch children.

I would investigate the name of the school and try to ask the higher ups like a principal if such
rules are true. I would also ask the principal ( If I manage to find the school) If he has ever since
Glass around the school area.

4. Take Joel Carni, whose family business, Four Acres, is one of the nation’s
largest political novelty manufacturers. This summer, stores will be hit with
Carni’s newest product, the Monicondom.

I would check if such a person exists and I would ask him questions related to the article to
determine how precise Glass’s story actually is.
5. “Shattered Glass” writer/director Billy Ray calls his film “a cautionary tale- a story
about the difference between being a good reporter and a hot one.” He says, “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 are 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.”
Write how this movie offered you a different perspective, made you think, etc. I am
looking for a personal response to this movie. Be detailed and write at least a
paragraph that cites specific events that show me you watched this movie!

We usually think as reporters and journalists like a piece of paper. We never see actually
knowing what is behind the paper and the word they write. This movie gave me insight on those
people. It developed their character and made me realize everyone has a different writing style
which is shaped by your personality, opinions and beleifs. For example, when Glass and his co-
workers were first introduced and they discussed their stories and they inspired themselves.This
scene gave me into the lives of reportes an it helped me reach beyond the piece of paper the
journalists write in.