FOR all that there was a fact-checking culture at the US magazine, The New Republic, it wasn’t sufficiently robust to prevent one of its reporters producing a series of articles, more than half of which were found to be fabricated.
His notes seemed to ask every question asked of him by his editors, but still they were duped, and in movie, Shattered Glass, the cover-up slowly and compelling unravels.
Made ten years ago, it is also an interesting take on the dilemmas faced by the magazine’s editors (one succeeding another), not least to what extent they are expected to protect their staff.
Directed by Billy Ray, Shattered Glass stars Hayden Christensen, who plays the reporter, Stephen Glass, and Peter Sarsgaard, who plays his second editor.
As one of the characters remarks, dryly: “There is one thing in this story that checks out. There does appear to be a state in the Union named Nevada.”
Watch the trailer, here:
But it here.
