Governor Schwarzenegger Signs New Anti-Paparazzi Law

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, of California, has signed a new bill into law that will fine paparazzi for taking photos that invade a celebrity’s right to privacy and also targets media outlets who purchase the photos.

Good! I have to agree with this one. Although I believe that public figures and celebrities have “somewhat” given up their right to privacy, the paparazzi has gotten too far out of hand.

The question is: where does is the line between following celebrity gossip, and the paparazzi, drawn. Should we punish Web sites such as TMZ? Should Perez Hilton not be allowed to speak his views? I think it’s pretty obvious that this law is being put in place to stop the “over the top” incidents that seem to make the news every so often (or every day if you watch the news sometimes).

From CNN:

Throngs of photographers often jockey to get the perfect shot of a celebrity, but that doesn’t mean it’s welcomed. Britney Spears famously had enough one night, taking an umbrella to a photographer’s SUV.

In 1998, Schwarzenegger himself had his car swarmed by paparazzi while he was picking up his child from school.

Jennifer Aniston received $550,000 and an apology from a photographer who used a high-powered telephoto lens to shoot her in the backyard wearing only panties.

While paparazzi may get a bad rap for their methods, celebrity columnist Ben Widdicombe said things are not always what they seem.

“A lot of times the shot you see in the magazine is actually orchestrated by the celebrity themselves,” said celebrity columnist Ben Widdicombe. “Celebrities like Britney Spears, for example, are infamous in the industry for letting their assistants tell the paparazzi when they’ll be leaving the gates.”

Celebrity photos can be big business, especially when it comes to major milestones. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher reportedly pocketed $3 million from OK for their 2005 union. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker received $2 million from OK for photos of their lavish Paris, France, wedding.

Gosselin Believes His Kids Aren’t ‘Exploited’

Unfortunately, the article I’m reading is just a tease for the new People Magazine, but it does have some interesting thoughts.

I’ve seen the past two episodes of the show (I hadn’t really watched previously, but my wife is a fan) and I’m pretty sure that there is some exploitation involved in the show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

From People:

By the time Jon Gosselin arrives at the Manhattan offices of his attorneys, he looks like he’s been through a war. Only when he realizes that he’s reached this room without being caught by photographers does he crack a smile. “All of them are sitting at my house and I’m here,” he says, with some satisfaction, of the paparazzi. “I swoop in and swoop out.”

Lately Jon could be forgiven for wanting to disappear entirely. Under attack ever since he was caught leaving a bar at 2 a.m. with another woman, the 32-year-old star of the TLC reality hit “Jon & Kate Plus Eight” — which chronicles his life with wife Kate, 34, their 8-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets — has seen his family become the target of choice for the tabloids.

“I don’t even want to use that word, because I think it’s ridiculous,” he says heatedly. Jon insists his children’s happiness will remain his focus — even if keeping them happy means quitting the show.

Photo of Shirtless Barack Obama Causes Quite a Stir

Photographers near the beach house the Obama family is renting for a 12-night Hawaiian vacation snapped a shirtless photo of Barack Obama which causing quite a stir today.

Paparazzi on the beach in Hawaii are being watched themselves by the Secret Service, but one photographer managed to get a shot of the president-elect in his least formal wear: without a shirt.

From CBS News:

All eyes are on the Obama transition team as they prepare to release a report on any correspondence with Blagojevich’s office… well most eyes.

A handful of paparazzi-style photographers have begun staking out the Obama compound in Kailua, hoping for a glimpse of the president-elect or his family. Yesterday, a few such photos popped up on various websites of the future president as anyone would be on a Hawaiian vacation—shirtless.

For the traveling press corps, a shot like this is never possible. Between the transition staff and secret service agents which follow our every move, cameras are never allowed beyond the big yellow concrete barricades set up down the road from the Obamas’ rented hideaway.

But local paparazzi have found a spot on the beach about a hundred yards from the secret service detail where they can sit in lawn chairs with huge zoom lenses on their cameras to get a shirtless picture which they can then sell to the television networks at a hefty price.

Paparazzi are far enough away they don’t hear the “come on guys, how many shots do you need?” comments the president-elect gave his traveling press as they snapped pictures of him on a golf course Sunday.