Ethics in journalism is very important. Ethics is moral philosophy, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

Stephen Glass worked for the New Republic as a journalist. He was caught fabricating more than half of his stories when a Forbes Magazine reporter discovered his sources didn’t exist. Glass was fired. He then tried to become a lawyer in California but is having trouble doing so.

“I loved the electricity of people liking my stories. I loved going to story conference meetings and telling people what my story was going to be, and seeing the room excited. I wanted every story to be a home run,” said Glass.

Janet Cooke worked at the Washington Post as a journalist. She lied on her resume and after that people questioned the credibility of her story “Jimmy’s World” was fabricated. She had to give back her Pulitzer Prize and resigned. She now hopes to be able to tell her story.

“I wanted to create a forum in which to confess my sins, to explain myself, to ask for forgiveness,” said Cooke.

Brian Williams works for NBC as a journalist and anchor. Footage showed that his plane wasn’t shot down as he said it did. He is suspended for six months without pay. He is without a job for the moment.

“You are absolutely right and I was wrong,” wrote Williams (from a New York Times Article).