On a story like that, your notes are crucial. You have to record everything you see and...

Stephen Glass:

[to the students]
There are 16,800 magazines in this country. But only one calls itself the in-flight magazine of Air Force One. And that's the thrill of working at The New Republic. You're underpaid, the hours are brutal, but what you write gets read by people who matter. Presidents, lawmakers. Your work can actually influence public policy. That's... that's an amazing privilege. And a huge responsibility. I'm sorry, they don't want to hear the whole journalistic responsibility speech. Do you? You just want to know how to get your name in print, right? Sounds familiar. OK. Let me take you through the life of your typical piece, so you can see where some of the hurdles are. We'll use one I wrote last year about a bunch of young Republicans at a conservatives convention. Now, journalism is about pursuing the truth and I would never encourage you to do anything sneaky or dishonest in pursuit of a story. Such as assuming a phony identity. [Referring to his article "Spring Breakdown"] Stephen Glass:
On a story like that, your notes are crucial. You have to record everything you see and hear. Every quote, every detail. All the way down to the mini-bottles in the fridge