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The Paparazzi And The Legislation Essay, Research Paper

The paparazzi – a fusion of the Italian words papatacci, meaning gnat and razzi meaning the popping of flashbulbs. It is also known as aggressive photography. The word paparazzo was coined by Federico Fellini, the name he gave to a prying society cameraman in his 1959 film “La Dolce Vita”. Paparazzi photographers are fueled by large sums of money offered by the tabloid press. They try to catch the rich and famous in unflattering situations.

The new breed of journalism grew by leaps and bounds after the Watergate scandal first broke in Washington, DC (Petersen s, 57). At first the paparazzi were an annoying group of photographers who were persistent when trying to get the perfect shot of a celebrity so they could sell the image for large sums of money but as technology became more advanced so did the equipment the paparazzi used – telephoto lenses, hi-tech listening devices, and powerful zoom lenses on video cameras.

No major celebrity can avoid them. Emerging from cars, entering glittering parties or trying to take a secluded vacation, the glamour figures of the 90s are hounded mercilessly by the men-and a few women-who wield long lenses and a brazen shamelessness (Maclean, 38). Today, paparazzi s tread on private property, film celebrities during intimate moments, and even go as far as stalking a public figure.

Some of these photos can be worth in the millions of dollars. A single photograph of Prince Charles seen together with his mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles is estimated to be worth 5 million English pounds. The prince says he “would love to figure out a way for the proceeds to go to charity” (Newsweek, 95).The prince and his mistress usually arrive and depart at different times in order to avoid the paparazzi when they attend a function together.

The prince has been lucky. Almost all well known faces have had run-ins with the paparazzi but many have horror stories to tell. The Screen Actors Guild has been concerned with the paparazzi and how it affects many of it s 100,000 members. “The death of princess Diana was the final straw” according to the SAG president, Richard Masur. He, along with California Senators Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and three respected constitutional scholars had a meeting to discuss what could be done about the paparazzi. In less than four hours, they came up with the rough wording of S. 2103 (Quill, 27).

Before that, Rep. Sonny Bono introduced the first bill, H. Rep. 2448, going so far as to specify prison terms for harassment that results in injury (five years) or death (20 years) (Quill, 27). The bill states that harassment would be considered “persistently physically following or chasing a victim, in circumstances where the victim has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” The way that is defined, victims can sue the police department if they were videotaped “harassing” a suspect like the Rodney King videotaped beating.

After Bono s death, Rep. Elton Gallegly, a California Republican, offered H. R. 3224, a more carefully defined version of Bono s proposal (Quill, 27). Bono s widow succeeded her husband to keep the Bono name on H. R. 2448. There are many bills being made to stop the most aggressive of the paparazzi but many take away from the first Amendment, freedom of speech.

Sen. Feinstein s bill, S.2103, differs from the House bills because it also provides for civil actions against members of the press for use of high-powered lenses, microphones, or helicopters used to trespass for commercial purposes. This provision attempts to supplement existing laws of trespass, creating a new legal cause of action for new forms of trespass made possible by modern technology. Victims can recover compensatory, and punitive damages and may also seek injunctive and declamatory relief (Quill, 21).

All three paparazzi bills-H. R. 2448 and 3224 in the House, and S. 2103 in the Senate-would, in their own way, create new criminal and civil penalties for commercially motivated invasions of privacy that result from persistent chases or other invasive methods used by photographers, videographers and audio recorders (Quill, 27). Actors Brad Pitt and then girlfriend Gwyenth Paltrow were caught vacationing on a private island in the nude and their pictures were sold to the highest bidder. The only way to snap those photographers would have been to trespass on private property.

Michael J. Fox told a story to the Senate about leaving a movie premier with his wife and a police escort when they were mobbed by the paparazzi. The results were photographs of Fox and his wife looking in distress with a police officer assisting them. The tabloids published fictional articles stating that they were being sent death threats and were afraid for their lives. Because of that article, a disturbed woman started sending him real death threats (6,200 in all). She was eventually arrested and served jail time. Fox says “I firmly believe that she would not have acted had the tabloid not provided an irresponsible, fictional precedent. There were stalking laws that protected us from her, but no deterrent or law to protect us from aggressive paparazzi” (Quill, 86). He states that “it s the hunting, not the cooking” that celebrities want protection against.

Other stars, politicians, and victims of infamous crimes have similar stories. The laws that are being considered, four in total as of June 98, have a positive and negative side to them. All laws are being made to protect against “commercially motivated invasions of privacy”. However, some lawyers fear that these laws could do more harm than good. Washington DC media lawyer Lee Levine said that if the paparazzi legislation passed he could “envision almost anyone who did not like a story that included a picture of him suing under this new law”. Because

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