Archive for June, 2008
By WENN, June 24, 2008
The man who oversaw the investigation into PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’s headline-grabbing sex scandal has been asked to help draw up new city laws that would keep the paparazzi from Malibu, California.
The coastal city’s Mayor Pamela Ulich has asked local Pepperdine University law school dean Ken Starr for the benefit of his legal counsel as she plans to prevent Malibu becoming a paparazzi mecca.
Ulich has suggested creating “buffer zones” for cameramen and photographers who follow celebrities to the beach, and taxing the snappers.
She wants the paparazzi to “think twice before shoving a camera in your face”.
The summer has already started badly for Malibu-bound photographers – several were chased off a public beach on Sunday (22Jun08) as they attempted to snap Matthew McConaughey.
A gang of angry surfers ordered the paparazzi to stop taking photos of the star. The confrontation led to violence when some of the surfers allegedly dragged a photographer into the sea while beating him up.
Another snapper reportedly had camera equipment thrown into the sea. Police reports were filed and the local authorities are investigating the matter.
So things are heating up in Malibu. Would love to hear anyones thoughts on this. Do you feel it violates the Paparazzi’s First Amendment rights? Check out this excerpt from the Malibu Times.
Angie Lee Cobbs
Legislation in the works
Regarding the effort to draft legislation to protect Malibu residents, City Council member Jefferson Wagner said the idea of instituting some sort of business licensing requirement for paparazzi to photograph in Malibu has been discussed.
“The paparazzi sell photos, that is commerce,” he said. “What they are doing is commerce on the beach.”
State law requires that anyone photographing for commercial purposes on state or public land, whether for compensation or not, must file for a permit, as well as provide a certificate of insurance. However, “breaking news” coverage is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and does not require a permit.
Wagner suggested if legislation is rephrased so that paparazzi are required to file for a permit to shoot, then they “will all line up … [and] at least we’ll know who they are, so we will have legal recourse if they violate laws.”
Monday morning Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley-Ulich issued an official press release on the subject: “Any new ordinance must be in harmony with the First Amendment free speech rights, which are so important. I am hopeful we can develop and implement an effective strategy that will address outstanding public safety concerns and balance those concerns against protected First Amendment activities and commercial activities.”
Once again, the stalkerazzi never disappoints. From IMDB.com
Latest: Extra sheriff’s deputies have been assigned to patrol the beaches of Malibu, California after two celebrity-related incidents at the weekend (21-22Jun08).
On Saturday, Colin Farrell challenged a paparazzi after the Irishman spotted the snapper trying to take beach shots of him, his son and pregnant pal Minnie Driver.
Farrell ran up the beach and confronted the videographer, asking, “Are you f**king taking a picture of me and my boy? Turn that off.”
And on Sunday, snappers trying to get photos of Matthew McConaughey at Paradise Cove beach brawled with angry surfers, who took offence when their playground became a paparazzi target.
In video footage released to news networks, the surfers can be seen beating up the photographers and dragging one of them into the ocean.
Local officials in Malibu are fighting to change city laws to prevent the paparazzi from invading beaches. In the meantime, police have agreed to patrol target areas in a bid to halt further clashes between photographers and sunbathers.
One local tells WENN, “It’s getting out of hand. Suddenly you spot a celebrity and then there’s a swarm of photographers. Malibu people are sick of it.”
From Showbizspy.com message board
Photographers can’t be banned.
A couple of things, as a political scientist who dabs in candid photography as a hobby.
1. Malibu can’t ban the photographers from the beach because it is public property. They do have every right to be there and they do have a constitutional right to take the candid pictures.
2. Unless the photographer’s business is located in Malibu, you can’t tax them either. Because to tax them you have to tax income.
3. On the other side of the equation, it is always disturbing when you have some one camp outside your home or follow you around whether or not it is the paparazzi. It can be the same as stalking and if the paparazzi is doing that then you should be able to hit them with antistalking laws already in existence.
4. Celebrities do not have any extra rights or previleges that are not applicable to anyone else. As the beach is public everyone has the right to use for any purpose that is legal. Clearly, what the surfers did was illegal.
5. There is a reason why we do not have european style laws, unlike europe, the US is a true constitutional republic where people have the right to do things even if the majority don’t agree.
In short, candid photography is a constitutionally protected right, but following people around and making cell phone calls or text messaging other photographers to join in, is tantamount to stalking.
Photographers and the public should be aware that there is a difference between the two. Unfortunately, california’s stalking laws exclude the papparazzi. That’s something that needs to be fixed with a new constitution which I am working on.