Paparazzi was born out of O, and the "uncrowned emperor" was called "cultural hooligan" or "bitch reporter"
The shocking "Paparazzi", formerly known as Italian paparazzi, first appeared in 1958, and its official translation name should be "tracking photography team". In 1960, Italian director Ferini in the film "Sweet Life", the hero Masdouanni was a gossip journalist, who often went in and out of the upper class and searched for the theme. In 1963, Ferini’s Eight and a Half appeared again as a gossip journalist, which laid a vivid image of Paparazzi in people’s minds.
As for the Chinese translation "paparazzi", it was initiated by Hong Kong people. In the 1950s, the Criminal Intelligence Division of the Hong Kong Police Department was good at tracking cases, and was famous for its investigation methods of tracking and eavesdropping. These plainclothes criminal investigators (commonly known as O-Records) were nicknamed "Puppy Team", which meant that dogs used their keen sense of smell to track their prey.
This kind of investigation and tracking ability and method was later carried forward by reporters, tracking news figures, artists and celebrities day and night. Because of the long-term tracking and waiting, not one person can do it independently, so this group of reporters who make good use of the lens to capture the news that leaked from the net are collectively called "paparazzi".
After the 1950s, celebrity idolization became popular, and some nobles, political and business celebrities, athletes and performing stars became the objects of mass worship. The popularity of these idol stars depends on a lot of media exposure, but on formal occasions, they are all glamorous and boring over time, so the words and deeds and daily habits of the stars in private have become secrets that people are eager to peep at.
The essence of "paparazzi" is to explore "non-surface" news events, with the elements of follow-up and tracking, thus promoting the good development of society. However, the ultimate goal of "paparazzi" is to sell the reported "masterpieces" for money, and they are keen on using "carpet-style" interview methods, using hidden cameras or long lenses, or stalking the interviewees with "hanging boots" to hunt for indecent photos of celebrities everywhere, which makes people embarrassed and make a fool of themselves. There are countless celebrities who have been victimized by paparazzi’s dung-scraping methods, and there are records of chasing people’s lives. Diana, the British princess four years ago, was the victim of paparazzi interviews. Diana, Diana’s lover Fayyad and the driver all died together, which shocked the world, and the paparazzi’s behavior was once again reviled by the world. In mid-June, it was reported that Fayyad’s father still wanted to sue two paparazzi for killing his son after many years, which once again questioned the paparazzi’s interview methods.
Paparazzi members exposed themselves: high salary, stalking and beating, undercover, taking pictures of the dead, artists stealing photos, breaking up artists’ families …
Since the emergence of paparazzi, paparazzi has been equated with unconventional, indecent, deviant and so on, so many people accuse paparazzi of bringing bad social atmosphere. But at the same time, "paparazzi" have grasped people’s gossip and voyeurism, and their reports are often the most attractive to readers. As members of the "paparazzi", how do they view this career?
Mr. Deng, the "paparazzi" who photographed the remains of the artist Wu Yongwei’s husband a few years ago, said: "Guilty, very guilty. I personally received the invitation only three weeks ago. Three weeks later, Weng Jiangpei died suddenly. I have to personally uncover Weng’s coffin and photograph the remains of the deceased. I feel very disrespectful to the deceased and his family, but this is my task … At that time, all newspapers and magazines wanted to take pictures. But when the whole company contributes, should it fall short because of my guilt? I ended up shooting, but I was very sad. If I were his family, I wouldn’t want others to shoot it. Finally, I felt guilty enough to personally apologize to Miss Wu, and I didn’t feel at ease until I heard her forgive me. "
Another "paparazzi", Xiao Hong, made great contributions because he filmed a male artist’s "stealing love" clip, but indirectly led to the separation of the artist’s family. The "paparazzi" constantly blamed himself: "When I was sent, my boss said that I would not shoot, and others would shoot. If I don’t shoot, it may make them have a step down, but if I shoot, he is accused by thousands of people and it is difficult to turn back. " Later, I thought that although he is a public figure, he should also have the right to privacy. Although I made great achievements that time, I will never do this kind of interview again. You follow up drug trafficking and smuggling, you are beneficial to society and the public, but visiting artists is purely gossip. Gossip may harm others and society does not benefit. Why bother? "Xiao Hong said guiltily.
Huang, an "old paparazzi", holds the opposite opinion: "Our task is to prove that public figures should be psychologically prepared to be filmed and reported. We can’t hold a press conference just because we do good things, but stop others from knowing if we do bad things. Is this reasonable? My mentality is to get some pictures that others don’t have. I am a reporter, not a recorder. People have me and I have them. What are you doing here? "
"The world is realistic. Will morality increase sales? Can morality be a meal? If I don’t shoot, will anyone appreciate me? If I don’t shoot, will there be artificial addition and will someone dig corners? " This series of questions somewhat reflects why some people are still keen to be paparazzi.
Simon’s experience in Hong Kong One Media is even more colorful. Before he became a paparazzi, he thought it was a supreme honor and mission, but after five years of "hard years", he got a different feeling.
Once, they were asked to cover the news that a female star was living with a male singer. After several weeks, I still can’t get a picture of them together. Finally, Simon could do nothing and reported the situation to the top. The boss actually said, "You won’t hit her with your car and then call the man to come out and deal with it. You can’t do it so simply, what are you afraid of! " Simon, of course, didn’t do this, and he received a warning letter from the top.
On another occasion, they were sent to interview a gay male singer who moved with her boyfriend. Simon was found by the singer’s boyfriend on the first day, and was chased by someone with a bat. After Simon and his colleagues fled to a safe place, they routinely called the top to report the situation. Before the boss heard it, he scolded, "You won’t stand there and call him, and you won’t really be killed. Other people take pictures of beating people, and we can be on the cover, stupid (stupid)! "
Once, Simon’s boss personally led a team to interview the news that the TV station was dating her and Xiaosheng. When the target appeared and the car came from a distance, the head suddenly said to Simon, "You rush to the road to stop the car, and I will shoot as soon as she stops. At that time, the speed of the car was over 70 kilometers per hour. Of course, Simon wouldn’t bet his life, so he followed up and said, "You are better than me, you went!" Simon was scolded by his boss for this.
Simon said that most of the time, they have to use the car to track the target. It is strictly ordered that if the target finds out, he should finish the work at once. The so-called "finish the work at once" is to block the target with the car and then take pictures. Therefore, they often chase after the target on the road, so there have been more than ten "collisions" of all sizes. Looking back now, Simon is still frightened and still has a lingering fear.
Simon said: "In addition to tracking and chasing, we have to’ enter the house’ (sneak into the target’s home)." They were told not to be afraid, because in case of accident, the company would make corresponding guarantee measures. As a result, a naive colleague believed it and was stopped by community security personnel after breaking into a private house. When he called the superior for help, the superior actually told the security guard: "We didn’t ask him to break into a private house, and everything was left to the owner."
"With the increasingly fierce competition among peers, the above requirements are even more unscrupulous. To paraphrase Taiwan Province’s recent phrase:’ A man of forty has only one mouth left.’ They can’t do it themselves, but they want to be relaxed and happy. "
"The longer I stay as a paparazzi in Next Weekly, the more I feel that I am losing my humanity and my feelings are more numb. I know that if I continue to do this, I will only die." Simon said.
Fat Li publicly apologized to Hong Kong for spending money on news and exposing many celebrity shady stories.
What is the magic weapon for "paparazzi" to become so "miraculous" and "ubiquitous"? The news interviewed by "paparazzi" comes from many aspects. "Paparazzi" may have to wait and trace through the hair stylist and makeup artist of the target person, the employees of the club they belong to, or the places where they shop and beauty salons.
Generally, a newspaper office will send a driver, a photographer and a journalist to track down the target. When the manpower can’t be deployed, the photographer may have to act as a driver and report to the journalist. Because they often encounter situations such as staying up late at night and even being chased, the members of the "paparazzi" are mostly men. In order to hide people’s eyes and ears, paparazzi’s tracking cars are not printed with the names of newspapers or magazines, and their cameras or video recorders even appear in the shape of mirrors and lipstick.
In order to obtain information conveniently, "paparazzi" will investigate the artist’s address in their spare time, so as to ambush in the building when something important happens in the future. Paparazzi will also use words to find artists for an exclusive interview, and then send people to follow them, asking about their itinerary, address and license plate, so as to take necessary tracking actions. "The premise is safety and anticipation. Remember to rewind the film after a photo shoot, put it in a new tube, and deliver it when someone breaks the camera or takes apart the film. " A photojournalist said. "Paparazzi" have a heavy workload and hard work, and they are willing to fight. The salary will be higher than that of other journalists, with a monthly salary of more than HK$ 30,000.
The Hong Kong media really organized paparazzi. In June 1995, Li Zhiying organized Apple Daily, which not only set off many newspaper price reduction wars, but also tracked down the privacy of entertainment stars and celebrities, such as "Faye Wong Dou Wei’s marriage", "Tony Leung Chiu Wai Carina Lau’s breakup", "Jackie Chan Zhang Ziyi’s scandal" and "Dragon Seed Incident", and so on, and even more, the paparazzi stirred it up. The appearance of paparazzi has promoted the competition of entertainment news industry in Hong Kong, such as Oriental Daily and Oriental Weekly, and they have set up their own paparazzi teams one after another, making paparazzi a phenomenon.
The unscrupulous interview methods and reports of "paparazzi" once aroused social criticism and repeatedly destroyed the good image and credibility of the media. "Chen Jiankang Incident", "Hong Bao’s Love" and "Giants Competing for Production" are all classics among them.
In October, 1999, the relationship between the famous disc jockey Hong Chaofeng (Fengfeng) and the rich woman Teresa Bao (Baobao) went wrong. Apple Daily even reported it as the front page, and even dispatched "paparazzi" to track the client for 24 hours, and led the client to tell many unpleasant "privacy". "Love of Hongbao" was full of drama from the beginning. Hong Chaofeng interviewed Teresa Bao in the program, so as to appreciate each other and have feelings, and publicly kissed and expressed his love for each other in the program, which made people feel that fairy tales reappeared for a time.
Only ten months later, the two sides broke up again and thought it would come to an end. Unexpectedly, a newspaper tracked Hong Chaofeng, and found that he was traveling arm in arm with a man in Dalian, and began a very entertaining report. For example, Fengfeng was accused of mental problems, and asked the Labor Department to collect debts from her baby, and accompanied by a lawyer, she made public her sex life with her baby. A personal matter quickly became the focus of the media, and even occupied an important position in the front page of the newspaper. I really can’t help but admire the ability of the "paparazzi" to follow the report.
Although most "paparazzi" are related to entertainment news, their practice of entertaining social news, such as the report of "Chen Jiankang incident", has become a big stain in the history of Hong Kong news.
In October 1998, a woman in Tianping Village, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong, couldn’t bear the blow of her husband’s "keeping mistresses" in mainland China. She threw her two 10-year-old and 6-year-old sons off the balcony of her 14th floor apartment, and then committed suicide herself. The tragedy touched people’s hearts. After the incident, the woman’s husband, Chen Jiankang, returned to Hong Kong from the Mainland and was interviewed by many media in succession. He publicly admitted that he had gone north to prostitute himself, and criticized his wife who had just passed away for failing to meet his sexual needs, making fun of himself as a "human-run" (a negative example of human beings). Chen Jiankang suddenly became the most unhealthy scum.
The media’s interest in the incident is growing day by day, taking advantage of the protagonist’s ignorance, repeatedly teasing with tone, and even sending reporters to follow Chen Jiankang to the north for fun, reporting in detail that he is looking for a girlfriend in the mainland and enjoying himself. Apple Daily even reported the news of "people running" on the front page for three consecutive days, including a photo of the protagonist and two women "hugging each other left and right" in a hotel bed. Later, it was found that the above classic photos were related to the newspaper’s payment of HK$ 5,000.
This is the least "healthy" media incident. Paparazzi who follow the "people’s office" spend money to buy news in order to "get out of position", and newspaper sales may increase. However, the notoriety of "fabricating news" has been criticized by Hong Kong society and journalists’ organizations. On November 10th, 1998, the front page of Apple Daily published an apology notice signed by Li Zhiying.
Paparazzi at War with Judges: Personal Interview, Educating Judges about Paparazzi
Looking around the media in Hong Kong, the competition between Oriental Newspaper Group and One Media is the fiercest. Oriental Daily, The Sun and Apple Daily account for more than half of the newspaper market in Hong Kong, and the competition between the two groups has created a judicial case of "paparazzi and judges", which has been widely criticized by all sectors of society.
The "paparazzi and the judge" originated from the fact that the Oriental newspaper was pirated by Apple Daily to print an exclusive photo of the pregnant female singer Faye Wong. After taking the case to court, they argued for two years. The Oriental newspaper only got HK$ 8,000 in compensation and had to bear huge legal fees.
From September 1997 to January 1998, Oriental Daily was dissatisfied with the court’s repeated rulings that the lawsuit involving Oriental Newspaper Group lost, and published articles in succession, calling the judges of the Court of Appeal Gao Yihui and Luo Jiezhi "white-skinned pigs" and the judges of obscene and indecent publications "yellow-skinned dogs", which were "remnants of Hong Kong and Britain" and "political persecution" of Oriental Daily. For three days in a row, the newspaper sent "paparazzi" to follow Judge Gao Yihui of the Court of Appeal and "educate" Judge what "paparazzi" means.
The case was tried in the High Court in mid-May, 1988. The High Court ruled that Huang Yangwu, the former editor-in-chief of Oriental Daily, who despised the court, was imprisoned for four months. As the publisher of the daily newspaper, Oriental Newspaper Group was fined 5 million Hong Kong dollars.
Chief Justice Chen Zhaokai and Qi Yanhui said in their sentencing that freedom of the press and judicial independence are the two pillars of society. If the freedom of the press is abused to slander and vilify the court, it will only do harm to them. If the public’s confidence in the judiciary is shaken and weakened, it will endanger the rule of law, and the same abuse of freedom of speech will only be harmful. Judges are not immune to criticism, but their speeches should be carried out fairly and reasonably, and a responsible and respectable media must take this as a code. Unfortunately, in this incident, the principle of freedom of speech was obviously extremely abused. The action of Oriental Daily is not only about individual cases, but the rule of law itself. Its purpose is to create an atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the judicial department, in an attempt to make the judicial department yield to the pressure of public opinion, and it will be more lenient when dealing with cases of Oriental Daily or its sister newspapers. This act of challenging the basic rule of law is the most serious example of media contempt encountered by courts in common law jurisdictions. In history, no judge has ever encountered such a nuisance as Judge Gao Yihui being followed around the clock.
Later, on September 28th, 1998, the Court of Final Appeal of Dongfang Group was awarded the right of appeal. Apple Daily should compensate Dongfang Group for 3,301 yuan, and pay all the court fees of the original court and most of the court fees of appeal to Dongfang Group. The case was closed, but the media abused the paparazzi’s interview style and used public tools for private use, which has seriously damaged the credibility of the Hong Kong media.
Paparazzi makes political and business people have nowhere to hide. Hong Kong celebrities jointly launched "Shut up"
Many target people who were tracked were disgusted with the actions of "paparazzi". In 1995, Hong Kong’s entertainment industry launched "Shut up" and refused to be interviewed by the media for three days in protest. And hold a parade of artists to reflect the incident to the government, thus arousing the awareness of the industry, the media and the public to respect privacy. Cheng Jienan, a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, suffered from the pursuit of the paparazzi of Apple Daily, and later complained to the Hong Kong Press Council.
"On January 13 this year, at about 8 pm, my girlfriend and I got on the bus from Fort Street and drove to the expressway, and found a reporter following us. A heavy locomotive overtook my car and slowed down. Forced me to stop the car. At this time, I followed the car behind me and suddenly jumped out of three people. Surrounded my car in a zigzag pattern, two people beside the car took out their cameras and slapped me for a while. After taking the photo, the motorcyclist actually stopped other vehicles so that the three paparazzi could leave quickly. "
"I still remember my girlfriend blurting out in horror:’ This seems to be an inland road kidnapping.’ "
Cheng Jienan said angrily, just for a few photos, these paparazzi actually ignored the safety of others. Who will bear the responsibility if the rear vehicles fail to brake and a serial car accident occurs? Apple Daily? Fat guy Li?
Until late August, 1999, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published two documents, such as Consultation Document on Media’s Invasion of Privacy, and suggested that a "Privacy Protection Press Council" should be established by legislation to deal with complaints about invasion of privacy by newspapers and magazines, and a three-month public consultation period was launched. As a result, various circles in Hong Kong have debated on the issues of "privacy right" and "freedom of the press", which has become one of the hot spots of widespread concern in Hong Kong society.
Tung Chee-hwa, the Chief Executive of the SAR, said that there was no doubt about the government’s determination to protect press freedom. The Government will resolutely protect the freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the Basic Law., However, no one should ignore the proper ethics of the media under the pretext of "freedom of the press", and seek profits only, even at the expense of selling pornography, exaggerating violence and even distorting and slandering.
Some scholars have pointed out that it is not contradictory to protect "freedom of the press" and "privacy right" from infringement. While reminding the media to safeguard the freedom of the press and perform their supervisory functions, they should also shoulder social responsibilities, care about the interests of the people and protect the "privacy rights" of the citizens.
Troubled by paparazzi’s follow-up, the entertainment industry pointed out that in advanced overseas countries such as the United Nations and the European Union, freedom of the press and the right to privacy can be equally valued, so as a civilized society, neither side should be ignored. The Hong Kong Artists Association believes that Hong Kong definitely needs to establish a healthy system to balance the protection of press freedom and privacy rights.
Last summer, 70% of the newspapers in Hong Kong formed the Hong Kong Press Council, hoping to improve the professional level and ethics of the newspapers in Hong Kong, and to receive complaints from the public about the invasion of privacy by newspapers. However, several high-selling newspapers in Hong Kong, such as Oriental Daily, Apple Daily and Sun, did not join the organization, and the representativeness of the Council was questioned to some extent.
Zhang Guiyang, executive director of the Hong Kong Association of News Executives, said that news reports in Hong Kong tend to be "alienated" and entertaining. The problem lies in journalists’ lack of understanding of their duties. He believes that journalists should have the idea of passing on moral values to the next generation.
A recent survey found that young people in Hong Kong do not appreciate celebrity scandals as headlines, nor do they agree with the despicable interview methods of "paparazzi". Only 6% of them think newspapers are trustworthy.
This survey, conducted by Caritas-Hong Kong Youth and Community Service, only involves more than 800 people, but it shows that Hong Kong society has lost confidence in the media, and the "paparazzi" interview method has begun to produce bad results. When will Hong Kong media get rid of the "paparazzi nightmare" and regain the glory of the "uncrowned emperor"?
All people are good, paparazzi is a business.
Following the paparazzi, a variant of paparazzi photography team-information paparazzi has recently emerged in the media market all over the world. These information experts, armed to the teeth, are erratic and secretive. They can track all kinds of privacy and scandals of celebrities all over the world through the Internet or other high-tech means. Faced with the massive publication of private information, even media organizations with serious news as their signboard have to put down their airs and bid for all kinds of important secrets provided by information paparazzi. Paparazzi spirit has become a kind of entertainment for all people.
The main reason why the media relies heavily on the information paparazzi is the cruel competition in the market. As we all know, advertising is the lifeline for the media to survive, and the advertising revenue is closely related to the influence of the media in the audience. In today’s modern society, exposing the dark and revealing the hidden has become a big industry with annual sales of several billion dollars. No media wants to cut a piece of cake.
Experts pointed out that there are two new trends in the development of global media in the new century: entertainment and localization. The paparazzi spirit is a wonderful embodiment of entertainment. According to a report published by Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong in November, 2000, Next Weekly and Apple Daily make a profit of about HK$ 300 million for Boss Li every year. Entertainment is a fruitful business, which is why paparazzi are always thriving. (Aivi Lu)
Excerpt from: Phoenix Weekly
