As the world mourns the life of a great woman, Princess Diana, questions about tabloids and paparazzi limits are coming about in the wake of her death. Were the paparazzi, and therefore, tabloid magazines and television shows, responsible for her death? This is not an easy question to answer, but as far as I am concerned, regardless of the fault in her car accident, tabloids and paparazzi have gone too far. They are out of control and something needs to be done.
For those of us out of the media spotlight, we consider one of our great rights to be privacy. However, when it comes to celebrities, we say, "They have all the benefits in the world. The loss of privacy is just a cost in a world of benefits." I will never believe that any human being deserves to lose their right to privacy, whether they are famous or not. Many entertainers choose their profession, not to necessarily to become visible to every person in the world on newspaper stands and TV programs, but, rather, they do it in order to perform. Performing is something they love to do, and unfortunately, part of the price they pay is to lose some of their privacy. But does that mean they have no right to privacy? Does that mean we as a public deserve to KNOW what they do in their private moments? No. The only time I can see it being necessary is if it impacted on the public (i.e., someone being a danger to others because of drugs; being in a news worthy event; a host of a children's show who molests children; attending a public function for charity or otherwise). A celebrity going to the grocery store or to the movies (not a premier) is not news. It is none of our business.
Princess Diana died a horrible death. Not only were the paparazzi chasing her until her car crashed (I will not lay blame on what killed her until I know all the facts), but once the car crashed, they did nothing to help. In fact, they prevented emergency personnel from getting medical care to her in order to get pictures that would fetch them money. It is such a sad state on our society. Even sadder still is I've spoken to people who want to see the pictures. Why is that necessary? When will the feeding frenzy end?
I think that tabloids consist of junk journalism (i.e., lies and half-truths), and they encourage the paparazzi to break laws and harass celebrities (and others) in order to get the pictures they want. Do I think we should promote laws to prevent this? No, I agree with George Clooney and many others that the last thing we want to do is censor. What I do think needs to be done is two-fold. First, and foremost, tabloid publishers and editors need to take responsibility for what they sell. They need to put a cap on the price they will pay for a picture. In fact, they should only use photographers they have under contract, salary or a free lancer will only be paid (let's say) $10,000 for a photo. Second, I truly believe that we as a public need to be more discriminating. Instead of encouraging tabloids to print lies and publish photos taken by illegal or harassing means by buying their trash, we need to take a stand and refuse to buy their magazines or watch their shows. If the public cries out with their money and their voices that we don't want lies and paparazzi photos any more, then maybe, just maybe, they will listen. And not only that, maybe, just maybe, ALL people in this country will be able to have the right to privacy once again.