The random thoughts of a genius...er...gene nash.
is it inevitable?
Published on September 3, 2004 By Gene Nash In Current Events

        One day Mel Gibson and some other celebrities were discussing their fears about nightmare situations with the paparazzi. Hmm, thought Mel, "What a great revenge film this would make." The result is Paparazzi, a Mel Gibson produced flick in which a Hollywood action star goes after the paparazzi who caused a Princess Di-like crash which nearly kills him and his family.

        My question is why hasn't this happened already? With the paparazzi's growing boldness rising to feeding frenzy levels it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed. Some paparazzi even do all they can to provoke a reaction from celebrities hoping for big bucks from "When Celebs Attack" footage and even higher civil case remuneration. These are Internet griefers let loose in the real world. The kind of people who pickup their camera bags and head out the door looking for celebrities to harass are the same kind of people who love to attack in chat rooms and sit at their keyboards laughing at the reactions. Most paparazzi-shot footage exists solely for these abrasive adrenaline junkies to get their rocks off and is never sold or seen anywhere. How long is it before Hollywood strikes back with something more than private security firms and lawsuits?

        Given the power and vast financial resources of these walking targets I am surprised no cabal has ever been formed to "take out" at least the more egregious of these vermin. If even the Princess Di incident was not enough for a crackdown or reformation of the paparazzi-machine then it will certainly take something other than governmental regulation to stop the excesses.

        These people should not have first amendment protection. Most of these people have no credentials and are not officially associated with any news organization. Anyone can buy a camera and start stalking celebrities under the banner of "first amendment protection." These are not journalists. These are not the press. These are opportunistic, parasitical vermin who put on an off-the-rack Halloween costume labeled "member of the press" in order to get away with their outrageous and barbaric conduct. They see the first amendment as an all-encompassing "get out of jail free" card. Getting called on bad behavior and screaming "first amendment!" is as bad as and not much different from claiming the victim is at fault because "it was just a joke." They are cowards emboldened by the thought no-one can do anything to them. It should not be allowed and clear limits should be placed on the behavior. Crossing those lines should result in civil or criminal repercussions.

        As far as I am concerned, the only act the press is constitutionally given the right to perform is that of publishing. Consider this earlier draft of the constitutional guarantee of a free press, "The freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to apply to the Government for redress of grievances, shall not be infringed," and ask yourself if paparazzi actions really fall within it. The assaultive, privacy-smashing behaviors some wish to claim first amendment protection for would not be accepted by a member of the general populace and should not be acceptable from anyone else. Their in-your-face confrontations would not be accepted against a non-celebrity and should not be allowed because someone has crossed some imaginary line called "public figure."

        If the government refuses to set boundaries the task will inevitably fall to someone else, someone who will have to use the paparazzi's own method of "by whatever means are available." Then "anything to get the shot" may take on a whole new meaning.


Comments
on Sep 03, 2004
I did my senior comm paper on the freedom of the press and tabloid journalism. The trouble is, again, drawing lines. If you restrict the freedom of the press when it comes to tabloid journalism, then you've set a precedent for further restrictions on that freedom to be interpreted by different courts in different manners. Comm Law is full of cases where a precedent has been set and therefore has to be followed; that's why judges write cases so narrowly, sometimes, that they're only enforceable in certain circumstances.

WIth those examples you gave, paparazzi are doing their dirty work on public sidewalks and streets, and the only means of protection in public places is a restraining order. I think it would be great for Hollywood to try to get a restraining order against the press. Oops, there go the interviews.

No. I think if you desire celebdom, then you get what comes with it. Having said that, I do think the press should double as punching bags, as long as they're within arm's length.
on Sep 03, 2004
Of course, if anyone does decide to take matters into their own hands now, the media will inevitably blame it on the movie instead of the actions of the paparazzi themselves.
on Sep 13, 2004
Hi, this is off topic, but I'd like to ask a question about how you got your pic posted under the my favorites tab. I've been playing around with the custom links of my own site and haven't been able to figure it out. Would it be possible for you to cut and paste what you put into the link name and/or link url fields into an email or a comment here? Maybe with a 'your url' here in place of the url you used for your own photo. Thanks in advance. I really appreciate any help you might be able to give! chiprj@gmail.com
on Sep 13, 2004
I agree with you to a certain degree, Gideon.

I believe some celebrities thrive on the attention, going so far as calling or even wanting the paparazzi to capture them. A good example of this is Britney. However, she walks out of gas station bathrooms without any shoes, grabs her fiance's crotch, and undresses in a store (with cameras nearby) to try on a shirt. Next thing, it reads on her mom's journal on the site: "the paparazzi are making Britney look trashy and won't give her a moment's peace!" It would happen, if she didn't go to such outrageous lengths to keep the mention.

While lines have to drawn, like Angloesque said, it does go both ways. Celebrities shouldn't have to be hermits, however, they need to realize that if they court the paparazzi in any way, they have to deal with the consequences.
on Sep 14, 2004

If you restrict the freedom of the press when it comes to tabloid journalism, then you've set a precedent for further restrictions on that freedom to be interpreted by different courts in different manners.


Where is the line drawn between freedom of the press and harassment?  In Princess Di's case, they where basically threatening her by chasing her.  Why shouldn't people be protected from that?  Why should it be legal to go around taking pictures of people in their private lives and publishing those images without a model release?  At what point is the line drawn?