Paparazzi Celebrities And The Media example essay topic

Our society is obsessed with celebrities. This obsession has turned what most photojournalist would consider off limits and into photojournalists who are maniacs, paparazzi. The word paparazzi, comes from the word "paparazzo", which is Italian for annoying insect. Paparazzi are self-employed freelance photographers who sell their pictures for large amounts of money.

These photographers have no respect for the moral and ethical values in photography, and they have earned this title. Some photographers and reporters will go to any means, even illegal actions, to get a picture or story. However, public figures are human beings like everyone else, and the media should give them the right to privacy. The media needs to operate with more respect for both laws and for moral and ethical codes of conduct. There are laws establishing the privacy of an individual, and the media needs to extend these rights to public figures. Problems with the paparazzi is an increasing issue that needs to be stopped because it is ruining people's lives.

Public figures are entitled to their own private lives, and up until two generations ago this was not a problem. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used a wheel chair or braces, but that disability was rarely mentioned and almost never photographed. Many previous presidents were unfaithful to their wives, but the media did not cover these affairs that were common knowledge to the press corps (Knowlton 51). However, the extramarital affairs of President Clinton were widely covered by the media. The ethical code of conduct has fallen apart, and the media has new views of the amount of privacy that should be extended to public figures.

According to Steven Knowlton, author of Moral Reasoning for Journalists, "Celebrities of all sorts- musicians, athletes, entertainers, and others- make their living from the public and the public therefore in a sense employs them, just as it employs governors and presidents... ". (54). Most journalists figure that celebrities voluntarily surrender their privacy as part of an unwritten contract with the members of society who pay their salaries through purchasing. Additionally, the Supreme Court ruled in 1964 Sullivan vs. New York Times case, that vulnerability is taken as a price of admission to the public arena. The privilege to cover public figures is almost unlimited, and the public figures have few privacy rights.

People reasonably expect privacy inside a house or fenced yard not visible for the street and inside living facilities such as in hospitals and nursing homes. Photographers need permission to both enter and photograph these private places. However, anyone is fair game to be photographed and have their picture published if the photo was taken in a public place. This includes people seen though the windows of their own home (Dill 178). However, the New York Court ruled that photographers shooting inside a restaurant needed permission because the restaurant was a public place for purposes of dining, and patrons dining there should reasonably be allowed to dine in peace (Dill 177). Even though it is currently legal to photograph public figures in the privacy of their own homes, ethically speaking it does not mean these pictures should be published.

However, because ethical codes are not working, there needs to be legal reform. Additionally, breaking and entering or using trickery, impersonation, fraud and disguise to gain admission to a private area are illegal. Even though these acts are illegal, some members of the media still break the law to get the picture or story they want. Often times, photographers or reporters who are illegally in a private place are forced to leave, but it is usually after they already have the picture or quote they want.

Public figures need to press charges so members of the media with no respect for the law are punished. According to Smolla, the author of Suing the Press, "Paparazzi photographers specialize in making themselves as visible to the public and as cloyingly obnoxious to their photographic subjects as possible". (120). Some public figures find it necessary to go to the authorities in order to keep the paparazzi away. For example, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her children were the ongoing preoccupation of Donald Galella, who fancied himself a paparazzo (Smolla 120). Onassis sued Galella, seeking not money but a court order forcing him to stop his paparazzi tactics.

Onassis won and Galella was ordered to keep 100 yards away from both Onassis and her children at all times (Smolla 121). Public figures should not find it necessary to personally seek legal action to ensure their privacy from the media. Therefore, if the ethical and moral codes of conduct are not working, the laws and authorities should take a more active approach to ensure the privacy of public figures. Many people have expressed their feelings toward the paparazzi in various ways. The death of Princess Diana has increased greatly increased the disgust and anger directed towards the paparazzi. Princess Di was being chased by seven paparazzi during the fatal accident, and many people have blamed the paparazzi for her death.

The princess herself had pleaded with paparazzi in the past to leave her alone, begging for protection from what she called a distressing intrusion into her private life. She even filed a restraining order against one photographer a year before her death. Famous actor, Tom Cruise commented, "I have actually been in the same tunnel being chased by paparazzi and they run lights and chase you and harass you the whole time and it happens all over the world". (Claffely).

Tom Cruise has also called for laws to control the paparazzi. There have been many other run-ins with the paparazzi. For instance, Arnold Shwarzenager and Maria Shriver were ambushed by celebrity photographers and trapped in a Mercedes-Benz between two cars piloted by paparazzi, who were charged with a misdemeanor for false imprisonment. Some celebrities have used violence to fight against the paparazzi while others have maintained vocal opposition.

For instance, Alec Baldwin and his wife Kim Basinger were confronted by a photographer as they brought their newborn daughter home for the hospital. Baldwin punched him and was acquitted with battery charge. In addition, George Clooney, upset about a broadcast on his girlfriend, urged a Boycott of Paramount Pictures Television Group because its tabloid TV shows use video paparazzi footage (Chaffey). Will Smith and Woody Harrelson both took swings at tabloid shooters in separate airport incidents and Robert DeNiro battled with a photographer in New York. Futher more, magazines, newspapers, and other publications deserve part of the blame associated with the paparazzi because they pay large sums of money for photos, encouraging the ruthless and greedy photographers. However, many American publications did not accept offers to buy photos of Princess Di and the crash scene because they wanted to send a message to the paparazzi.

New technology is making it extremely difficult for both celebrities and ordinary people to insulate themselves from public view, especially at their most vulnerable moments. People who have lost a child, spouse, or who are in another time of grief are often unable to grieve privately, simply because of the persistence of someone who wants to exploit their tragedy. However, it is usually illegal to photograph a widow inside a funeral home or at a religious service without permission. Nonetheless, reporters and photographers should take a second think about what they are about to publish and how they obtained the information or photograph. There are laws protecting the privacy of an individual, and all of these should be extended further to include public figures. In addition, policy makers should strongly consider passing new laws to increase the privacy given to all individuals.

At the least, they should prohibit photographers from invading a private domain with the use of long-distance photographic equipment and other high-tech equipment. They should also make is a misdemeanor to publish photographs taken without permission in a home or other private place. Even though these are not currently illegal actions, the media should act as if they were. Like other people, public figures should be able to separate their jobs from their family and personal lives. When public figures are spending time with their families, they should not be harassed by the media; Does our society have to revolve around knowing every detail of other people's lives? This problem has grown rapidly and people need to stop and think about the right thing to do.

The paparazzi need to be stopped and it could be on the decline if more people stepped forward to change the law. Intrusions on the privacy of celebrities are intrusions on the privacy of everyone..