Are Famous People Treated Unfairly by the Media? Should they be Given more Privacy, or is the Price of their Fame an Invasion into Their Private Lives? (Essay Sample)

Are famous people treated unfairly by the media? Should they be given more privacy, or is the price of their fame an invasion into their private lives?
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The horrific death of Princess of Wales in 1997 has become the high water mark that forever defined the relationship between high profile individuals and the media that covers them. The culture of celebrity that the media had nurtured up to that point was a significant factor in the crash that eventually killed Princess Diana (Blank, 2003). While it is hardly imaginable that innocuous media coverage would lead, directly or indirectly, to death, this historic event demonstrated an antagonistic relationship. It also showed just how far celebrities are determined to protect their privacy. In this text, I will give my views on the right of celebrities to privacy.
High profile individuals are covered extensively by the media because consumers generate demand for information. Information on the lavish lifestyles of fashion models, actors and singers is irresistible fodder for the fans that sustain the global billion-dollar celebrity business. This celebrity media machine is made up of publishers, consumers and, critically celebrities and photojournalists. Mainstream media is renowned for these photojournalists, who are officially referred to as paparazzi, but chided as stalkerazzi. In the hunt for the elusive yet lucrative scoop, paparazzi have been documented to be aggressive and unabashed. Regardless, in their pursuit for higher public exposure, celebrities feed of the paparazzi. No wonder the celebrity-paparazzi relationship is confrontational and antagonistic in almost equal measure (McNamara, 2011). Furthermore, as journalists, paparazzi are entitled to freedom of speech protections. The question, therefore, is ethical (Nordhaus, 1999): how far can the media cover celebrities?
Just like other people, celebrities have property and privacy rights. They are human after all. Tragically, celebrity news can now be shared far much more rapidly than during the "old" media era. The rise of social media and the citizen paparazzi together with the resilience of the hardened celebrity photojournalist has contributed to the blurring of news ethics: an aggressive and uninvited media is more likely to pursue an exclusive photo or sensational celebrity gossip than to honor privacy rights. Ethical lines are crossed, children are harassed and constitutional rights are assumed away. Celebrities do not surrender their right to publicity by virtue of their status nor can a harassing and disruptive paparazzi claim demand refuge under the First Amendment. Everyone has the right to privacy.
In conclusion, I surmise that celebrities should not have to pay for their fame by relinquishing their privacy rights...