Paparazzi is Ruining Photojournalism

There is a distinct difference between journalism and sensationalism. Paparazzi are a perfect example of abuse of journalistic power. Yes, you work for a magazine, yes you probably have press credentials, but really what do you do that positively affects society?

Journalists have an obligation to the public to inform using unbiased information. It is the First Amendment of the United States Constitution that Americans have the right to free speech and a freedom of the press, and many paparazzi photographers hide behind this. But an American’s rights end when they begin to infringe upon someone else’s rights and that is exactly what the paparazzi do.

Because a celebrity is a public figure, they forfeit their right to privacy. But that is not my problem with celebrity photographers. Paparazzi are giving hardworking photojournalists a bad name.

Recently I read something that blew my mind, a quote from a paparazzi photographer who stated, “Bad paparazzo are giving good paparazzo a bad name.”

In my opinion there is no good paparazzi, they are vultures sitting outside of a celebrities’ home waiting to get some kind of photo that they can go and sell off to the highest bidder, and I can safely assume that journalistic integrity is not on their mind when they are cashing a check from TMZ. A true journalist does not spend their day outside of someone’s house waiting to make that person’s life miserable, a real journalist is someone with a cause hoping to bring about change or bring to light good deeds.

One website that I have found is paprazziuniversity.com site, a website encouraging paparazzi photography. Their homepage has an ad for “Shoot Like a Superstar,” a seminar promoting paparazzi photography. In the ad, a quote caught my eye, it stated, “There is much more to this art, which is a mixture of photographic excellence, journalistic acumen, and the uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time.” When I saw this, my stomach actually turned. I was so upset by the fact that I was being lumped in with paparazzi.

I can understand being a photographer at Grammy’s just doing assigned work, but standing outside someone’s home or place of business waiting to bombard them with questions and cameras is just an unacceptable way to gather information. It bothers me that people are so accepting of this blemish on the  face of journalism and truly wish that society would stop worshiping celebrities to the point that so-called “journalists” stalk them.