NEWS STORY

Man started dancing in front of millions 

THE NEW TIMES POST

we live and see it

We all love seeing the stars in pictures and magazines. Do we know how far the paparazzi goes to get that one picture? Is it worth a life?

Term Paparazzi first came about in Federico Fellini's 1960 film La Dolce Vita. the film featured a photographer character named "Paparazzo." the exact roots of the word are being disputed, a lot of people claim that it is based on the word Papataceo, the italian word for an oversized mosquito. Fellini said himself that the term Paparazzo suggests a buzzing insect, hovering, darting and stinging. The first American use of the word Paparazzi appeared in the 1961 article "Paparazzi on the Prowl." A Time magazine article called the newly formed group a "ravenous wolf pack of freelance photographers who stalk big names for a living and fire with flash guns at point blank."

By the late 10960s magazines like "The National Enquirer," stopped writing stories about UFO'S and started writing stories about celebrity fashion and movie star trysts. People Magazine which was a spinoff of "Time", people section had its first cover in 1974. US Magazine started followed right on the heels of People magazine, and started out as a bi- weekly edition. Know with the start of the internet scandalous photos can move on line with sites like "Just Jared", and Perez Hilton. TMZ which started out in 2005 was one of the first sites to popularize paparazzi videos.

We have seen and heard many stories about the paparazzi going to great lengths to get stories and pictures of stars. One of these incidents occurred in 1960 when paparazzi surrounded and blocked a princess's car. Some other incidents include Kanye West. He was recently in the news for smashing a paparazzi's camera for getting to close to him. Back when Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz were dating in 2004, Diaz was reported to snatch a photographer's camera and try to run off with it, however this did not work out to well for Diaz as other Paparazzi saw what was going on and snapped pictures in the act. Then there was Justin Bieber. Bieber was reported to be trying to get his car out of his parking space, but was having difficulties due to the paparazzi swarming him. he reportedly jumped out of the car and kicked at the paparazzi to get them to move. one of the paparazzi is currently suing Bieber for damages he sustained. Then earlier this year Hallie Berry was exiting LAX with her daughter. While trying to hide her daughters face from the flash of the camera she was herd yelling at the paparazzi, "it's just a child you idiots," while placing her daughter in her vehicle her fiancé Oliver Martinez lunged at the paparazzi. Then back in 2009 a photographer alleged that Mike Tyson pushed him to the ground. While Tyson claims he was just trying to protect his family from the aggressiveness of the paparazzi. The charges were later dropped.

Perhaps one of the most iconic cases of the paparazzi attacking the stars, is the case of Princess Diana. While it was later determined that not only was the paparazzi to blame for Princess Diana's death but also the chauffer. The car crash which happened back in 1997 killed both Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi al- Fayed. It was said that he car was being pursued at high rates of speed by the paparazzi. After the car crashed the paparazzi proceeded to take pictures of the bodies. While it was thought that it was just the paparazzi who caused the accident it was later determined that not only did the paparazzi cause it but also the chauffer as it had been determined that he had been under the influence of alcohol. The chauffer Henri Paul had been off duty for several hours when he had been called back to the Ritz to pick up Diana and Dodi. Paul had also died in the accident. Among those factors it was found that Diana who had been in the back seat had not been wearing a seat belt, and the Mercedes slammed head long into a pillar after entering the Pont de l'Alma underpass at 60 miles per hour which was nearly twice the speed limit. Charges of Manslaughter were brought against 9 members of the paparazzi, however, none were found guilty of the charges of Manslaughter. But three of them were found guilty of invasion of privacy.

there are know people and groups out there that are trying to get laws passed against the Paparazzi. One such group is called the Paparazzi Reform Initiative have been trying to get SB 606. SB 606 is particularly noteworthy because it was signed into law, and because stars like Jennifer Garner and Hallie Berry were very public supporters. They even testified in the California's Judiciary Committee in support of the bill. While before it was illegal for a person to harass a child because of the parent's employment, SB 606 made it so that photographing or even attempting to photograph a minor without his or her parent's consent in a way that "seriously alarms annoys torments or terrorizes" is harassment and is punishable in the county jail for up to one year. While this seems like a good law, it violates the first amendment. the new language of the law essentially says that if the conduct that seriously alarms the child is photographing him or her then it is illegal thereby implicating the first amendment. the statute contains a phrase that arguably makes it so that the law could never apply to the paparazzi. Specifically, the statute defines harassment as "knowing and willful conduct directed at specific child or ward that seriously alarms annoys torments or terrorizes the child or ward. so basically this puts the paparazzi above the law.

what we must remember when we look at magazines that have the pictures of the stars on them is what did it cost the stars? What did that picture of their child cost them or the child?