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Introduction: The Paparazzi
The term "paparazzi" is defined as "a freelance photographer, esp. one who takes candid pictures of celebrities for publication."' The use of the term originated from the surname of such a photographer in the 1959 Federico Fellini film, La Dolce Vita.2 But the connotation that arises from the word "paparazzi" is much stronger than just that of freelance photographers of celebrities; it is that of annoying, persistent photographers who in essence stalk their celebrity victims and go to any length necessary to get the shot they desire.
The paparazzi tend to target celebrities who fascinate the public. The public's obsession further encourages the paparazzi in their pursuit and effectively endorses the paparazzi's invasive antics as accepted practice. It is only when harm or the near threat of harm occurs that the public becomes outraged enough to criticize the newsgathering techniques of the paparazzi.
The recent death of Princess Diana brought renewed attention to the media and its newsgathering techniques, particularly those of the paparazzi in their coverage of celebrities. Media attention to celebrities has resulted in a complete loss of privacy concerning both private and public issues for many celebrities. This loss is partially due to the status of celebrities as public figures, which subjects their everyday lives to more extensive scrutiny than the average citizen. The public encourages this intrusion into the lives of celebrities by their obsession with every bit of gossip that comes their way. The paparazzi fulfills this hunger by gathering the information that the public yearns to consume.
The techniques of the paparazzi are criticized as invading the privacy rights of celebrities. The difficulty that arises in the prosecution of the paparazzi is that their work generally occurs in public places where the right to privacy is greatly limited. This right of privacy is discussed in Part II. A correlative issue arises once the photographer publishes a photograph and, thus, invades the right to publicity. The right to publicity is discussed in Part III. Part IV presents the solution to the paparazzi intrusion based on Galella v. Onassis.3 Part V addresses legislative solutions that currently exist and new ones that are underway to protect the privacy rights of celebrities and other individuals from the paparazzi. Finally,...