Shattered Glass Assignment

Through the study of newspapers, magazines, and watching Shattered Glass, it appears that one of the leading issues that each medium faced was the competition derived from the television and internet. One of the main that was touched on in Shattered Glass was the needed change into color to keep up with the in-demand color television. According to National Graphic, they were the first magazine to switch to all color in February 1962, and USA Today led the way for the use of color in newspapers in 1982. Another key problem that the next generation of newspapers and magazines are currently facing is the internet. As people become more accustomed to instant feedback, color, and often free information, print media is struggling to survive. Its possible that this is one of the causes of the sensationalism of newspapers, magazines, and their online versions today. Fortunately, color is no longer an issue of competition for print media, but the possibilities of online access are causing a down fall today. One more interesting fact, is that the sensationalism and scandal Stephan Glass brought to the New Republic was eventually caught due to another magazines online fraction, Frobes Digital Tool. With the invention of the internet, searching and verifying information has become easier, if one knows what to look for.

Considering the extreme sensationalism Stephen Glass used to created stories that would sell, one might consider the effect reader's play in this game to win more readers. At first it appears that the more sensationalized the media becomes the more the readers (or listeners) come to desire it, but on closer look its the readers themselves who got the whole trait started. The idea of sensationalism to sell to readers was first established by the New York Sun and the New York Morning Herald, but was also a common practice used by newsboys in hopes of selling more papers in a day. The companies would not be spending this much effort to "win" readers if the tactics didn't work after all. To be forthright, humans have always had an addiction to the crazy, the bizarre, the un-normal, the funny, and gossip in general.  It is these natural traits that media picks up on to draw us into the story itself, and just the fact that a reporter is read because his stories are interesting or funny is enough for colleagues to wishfully strive after appeasing readers in that way. Overall it has become quite a cycle to where no blame can be pointed, but also no solution is readily available.

Shattered Glass also demonstrated the changes in media within the short span of 15 years. Within the movie they discuss moving to pictures, an online magazine starting up, and Stephen Glass's mimicked website. Today websites have become the norm and color is everywhere. In many ways this can make it easier or people to identify what is real and what isn't, but with the high level of technology, things that are faked can be made to appear as very credible. The significance to this is that any story can be read for different newspapers all over the world and almost any piece of information can be cross-examined by common people. It also creates the dilemma for print media due to the competition of the instantaneous web . As the culture moves towards technology and the internet, all other media is left to try and mimic many of the internets resources and customs. With how fast everything has moved there is no way to predict what will happen to print media and even television with the next several decades.