For the article on the 2004 film, see Paparazzi (movie)

Paparazzi is a derogatory term for photographers who take candid photographs of celebrities, usually by relentlessly shadowing them in public and private activities. The term can also be extended to cover those who pursue subjects who aren't public figures but have become newsworthy due to tragedy or other current events.

The word derives from Paparazzo, the name of a news photographer character in Federico Fellini's film La Dolce Vita. In Hong Kong, paparazzi are sometimes called "puppy teams", either because they dog (i.e. track) their subjects, or by analogy with the behavior of puppies around people.

It has become common practice for some paparazzi to confront or harass celebrities in an attempt to provoke some sort of a reaction on the part of the subject.

Technology such as long lenses and low-light cameras have made the paparazzi's job easier.

In support of paparazzi

The ACLU has repeatedly defended paparazzi in court, concerned about limitations to the freedom of the press in the United States [1] (http://archive.aclu.org/community/calif-s/ripstonpaparazzi.html). Others note the complicity of the celebrities themselves, whose publicity agents deliberately court the media for attention, sometimes including coverage of the private lives of their clients, while the celebrities themselves criticize paparazzi for invading that very privacy [2] (http://flash.uoregon.edu/W98/privacy.html). By purchasing tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines members of the public can encourage the actions of the paparazzi; without the public desire for private information and pictures, it is arguable that such practices would not happen.

Paparazzi in the news

• The Oriental Daily News (東方日報) of Hong Kong was found guilty of "scandalising the court", an extremely rare criminal charge that the newspaper’s conduct would undermine confidence in the administration of justice [3] (http://www.worldlii.org/int/cases/ICHRL/1999/12.html). The charges arose after it had published abusive articles challenging the judiciary's integrity and accusing it of bias in a suit the paper had instigated over a photo of a pregnant Faye Wong. The paper had also arranged for a puppy team to track a judge for 72 hours, to provide the judge with firsthand experience with what paparazzi do.

• Some blame paparazzi for the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed, who were killed in 1997 in a high-speed automobile accident in Paris, France while under pursuit by paparazzi. Although several paparazzi were briefly taken into custody, none was ever convicted, and the official French investigation of the accident concluded that they had not caused the accident.

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