OK! Looks to Cash In on Michael Jackson Death Cover

OK! Weekly is bracing for some flak over its pick for this week’s cover. While other publications went with feel-good images to commemorate Michael Jackson, OK! chose a grim photo of the dying star being whisked to the hospital June 25.

A knowledgeable source said British parent Northern & Shell paid the equivalent of roughly $500,000 in U.S. dollars for exclusive magazine rights to the photo in the U.S. and U.K.

OK! claims that the photo, which is similar to an image that has appeared on Entertainment Tonight’s Web site, is the last one showing Jackson alive. It plans to use the image in a number of its international editions.

News and entertainment weeklies are counting on huge newsstand sales this week due to the public’s huge interest in the pop phenom’s death. OK! in particular could use the help; its single-copy sales, which provide more than half its 909,884 circulation, have been generally weak this year. (The magazine says that sales have improved in the past few weeks but wouldn’t give out those figures.)

OK! also has been under the harsh spotlight lately over financial losses and continual changes at the masthead.

Sarah Ivens, OK!’s editorial director, said she thought the photo of the dying Jackson would differentiate the title from the rash of tribute-style covers that have begun hitting newsstands this week.

“It’s a photo that captures the surprise and the upset and the moment of this breaking news story,” Ivens said. “I hope the cover will provoke readers. It celebrated the man, but it also does expose that he was an eccentric character who lived a very controversial life.”

Obama tries to have it both ways with media

Press banned from photographing Sasha and Malia at the White House

A free press is all well and good, but not when it comes to the children of President Barack Obama, who has introduced unprecedented rules about which pictures we see of Sasha, eight, and Malia, 10, and which ones we don't.

It was several weeks ago, for instance, when photographers on the White House grounds captured the President waving extravagantly at Sasha standing on the Truman Balcony. Great pictures, to be sure, but the press office instantly requested that news agencies not distribute them.

The Obamas are confronting the same dilemma that faced many first families before them. Nothing endears a nation to its leader more than family snapshots. Even Abraham Lincoln acquiesced to a portrait with his son Tad, eight, at a small table. Few photographs are more beloved than the one of JFK Jr and Caroline playing in the Oval Office. On the other hand, the President and the First Lady want to protect the girls from prying paparazzi.

Thus, all credentialed photographers have been told that the girls are fair game only when they are at formal events. Otherwise, prying lenses should stay away, even when they are on the White House grounds.

To reduce the market for paparazzi shots, the White House puts out photos taken by its own photographer. But these are posted only in low resolution. Editors who want to use them have to ask for a high resolution version and it is up to spokesman Robert Gibbs to grant or deny those requests.

If Mr Obama wants to protect the children from being exploited by a voracious modern-day media, he may find himself treading close to being accused of exploiting them himself, with such a controlled drip-drip of images designed to extract maximum political advantage at the lowest parental cost.

"He's going to try to have it both ways until and unless people start to question his value system and his sincerity in playing that role," notes Gerald Shuster, a political communications expert at the University of Pittsburgh.

The girls, meanwhile, may be discovering the downside of having to stay clear of the paparazzi, having to think twice, for example, before venturing even as far as their climbing frame.

The President whose name is attached to the Truman balcony brought his daughter to Washington, but Margaret Truman loathed the bubble-life she found herself living thanks to her father, Harry, and famously called the executive mansion the Great White Jail.

MADONNA PAPARAZZI

Paparazzi are gathered outside Madonna’s townhouse in a posh section of London, hoping for a glimpse or photo of her new adopted daughter, Mercy.

Mercy is said to be bonding with her new mother before the family flies to New York.

Mercy arrived in London on Friday after an overnight flight from the Malawi orphanage where she had been living.

One June 12th the Malawi Supreme Court allowed the singer to adopt the child after a lower court had ruled Madonna would not be able to adopt her because Madonna wasn’t a resident of the Malawi.

Rights groups have accused the Malawi government of giving preferential treatment to Madonna and say this ruling will encourage other foreigners to try to adopt orphans from the southern African country.

Mercy will join her new sister and two brothers.

David Banda, who’s three, was also adopted from Malawi in 2006

Kodak Shutters Kodachrome

Kodak is discontinuing its storied Kodachrome film line, the company announced today. Introduced in 1935, Kodachrome was the first commercially successful color film, and was immortalized in a Paul Simon song in 1973. But these days it represents less than 1% of Kodak’s film sales, and only one lab in the world—Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, processes it, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.

“It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history,” said one Kodak executive. To honor that history, National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry will shoot one of the final rolls, donating the prints to the photography museum named for Kodak founder George Eastman. Any other remaining rolls will also be donated to the museum.

Pete Doherty Makes Comparison Between Paparazzi and Nazi Death Camps

Pete Doherty has recently been touring in the U.K., although his infamous drug use is threatening his career once more. When he’s not being arrested, the former Libertines singer is giving interviews to the BBC, who featured Doherty in a TV show about media intrusion.

Doherty has plenty of experience of this particular topic, particularly from his time as Kate Moss’s eye candy. In fact, it affected poor Pete so badly that is caused him to draw some unwise comparisons between paparazzi photographers and the Nazis on the BBC show.

“It's going to sound really extreme,” he said, in reference to photographers blaming their antics on newspaper demands. “But you know even the people who were like shoveling bodies into gas chambers were saying 'we're just obeying orders.' You've got to accept responsibility for what you do.”

Doherty’s statement is only likely to stoke the flames of his battle with the paparazzi. But with his fame ailing, it’s only a full-blown Libertines reunion or a reconciliation with Kate Moss that would really restore the level of fame he so desperately craves. Why else would he be making such inflammatory please-look-at-me statements?

The hunted become the hunters: Celebs vs. paparazzi

HOLLYWOOD (Herald de Paris) - Paparazzi. Sometimes, they’re good for buzz, for PR, and for publicity. Other times, they’re downright annoying.

Make that most of the time.

Scores of celebrities are hounded while they try to go about their daily lives, buy groceries, or take their kids to the park. When the more unscrupulous paparazzi cross the line, climb trees, hide in your trash can, or scare your kids, there’s only one thing to do: FIGHT BACK.

We here at L’Herald de Paris have a lot of celebrated friends. We hear often how annoying the paparazzi can be. Therefore, we’re going to give anyone in the public eye the opportunity to level the playing field.

When the paparazzi just will not leave you alone, pull out your mobile phone and snap their photo right back.

Seriously.

Send it to us with the date, time, and location, and we’ll publish it.

Let’s show everyone the faces of disrespectful photo journalism, and see how much THEY like having their unwilling photos published.

Hugh Grant kicks a paparazzi out of his way

Brit actor Hugh Grant has landed in yet another row with the paparazzi, and this time he lashed out at a photographer with his foot during a night out in New York.

Grant, 48, was on his way to a restaurant in the Big Apple on June 10 when he took offence at the snappers outside the venue, and as he made his way to another nightspot, he was caught on camera warning the photogs to “back off”.

The actor is said to have become so agitated by the photographers’ persistence that he reportedly kicked one in the groin. “That wasn’t cool. What the f**k is your problem? I was trying to be a nice guy. I was trying to help you find a cab,” the Daily Star quoted the unlucky snapper as shouting.

Council to examine protecting children from paparazzi

A circus-like atmosphere began unfolding at the First Presbyterian Nursery School, the source of chaos coming not from crying children, but rather a group of two dozen photographers snapping away from behind a fence.

They hooked their cameras into the fence, some even climbing up the divider erected between the playground and the alley where they stood, all to capture photos of a few celebrity parents with their children.

Such is a description of the scene according to Councilman Richard Bloom who recently visited the nursery school after receiving letters from more than 30 parents complaining about the nuisance caused by the paparazzi. During tonight's City Council meeting, Bloom and Mayor Pro Tem Pam O'Connor plan to ask staff to investigate "intrusive and invasive activities" of paparazzi photographers and videographers in areas where children gather, returning with recommended regulations to protect their privacy.

"Celebrities may not like it but they get that this is something they have to accept and live with … ," Bloom said. "I think there are limits as to what somebody should have to experience in this situation, but for the parents and children of the school, it's a very intolerable situation."

Among the celebrities who reportedly have children enrolled in First Presbyterian are Jennifer Garner and Meg Ryan, both of whom have been photographed at the school and displayed on various celebrity gossip Web sites.

Bloom said he was contacted by parents of the school several months ago about the ongoing issue of the paparazzi. During the visit, the councilman said he witnessed photographers blocking the alley and the entryway to the school.

"Inside the school, there were parents who felt trapped," he said.

In the letters parents talk about the problems experienced with the photographers, at least one even claiming that their family has been verbally assaulted.

The parents said that the paparazzi have also increased congestion on the street, taking up parking spaces and driving recklessly. One parent observed a photographer standing on top of a car and taking pictures over the fence. Another parent said the crowd of photographers also attracts people passing by, adding to the already congested environment. Parents also said the scene can be frightening to their children.

"Our families deserve the opportunity to give our children a safe place to learn and grow," one parent wrote.

In a letter to Bloom, Mary Hartzell, the director of the nursery school, said that church staff have asked the photographers to temper their actions, only to be met with insults.

She added that though the school has had famous parents over the years, the situation it experiences today is one it has never faced before.

"The school has always been a place that welcomes diversity and we have families from different economic, racial, social and religious backgrounds," she wrote.

Hartzell could not be reached for comment.

Bloom said he envisions regulations that would establish a reasonable distance that photographers should have to maintain.

"It has reached the point at this particular school where these folks feel strongly enough about it to contact a council member and ask if something could be done," he said.

Francois Navarre, the owner of Beverly Hills-based X17online, an agency dedicated to celebrity photography, said that there are plenty of rules in place right now that restrict photographers, including one that prohibits them from parking in an alley.

"The police always find a reason to push away photographers," Navarre said. "They say we're disturbing the traffic and disturbing this and that."

He added that more laws could raise issues for his agency.

"Any specific regulations against the paparazzi is very dangerous for me because the difference between paparazzi and journalist is so ambiguous," he said.

Gerard Butler Facing 6 Months in Jail for Paparazzi Beat-Down

Movie star hunk Gerard Butler has been charged with misdemeanor criminal battery over an incident involving a paparazzi-photographer last year. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to 6 months in jail. The incident occurred the night of October 7th, 2008 after a premiere party for “RockNRolla.” Allegedly, the photographer was trailing Gerard’s limo for hours, verbally harassing Butler whenever he got in and out of the limo, and even was chasing people through the streets.

Gerard’s manager Alan Siegel said the actor was forced to have his driver stop the car he was riding in after the particular photographer repeatedly sped through red lights and almost struck two pedestrians. Butler was said to have then punched him several times, bloodying the photographer’s lip. Police filed a report against the “300” actor over the scuffle. The Los Angeles City Attorney has already filed legal charge against him on Wednesday, May 13th, and Gerard is due in court for an arraignment on June 10th. His attorney, Blair Berk, has said that Butler is not required to, and won’t, appear in court on the matter.

Janice Dickinson attacks paparazzi

Janice Dickinson attacked the press in an expletive-laden rant when she was intercepted on the way to her car after a night out in Los Angeles

The America's Next Top Model judge had posed for photographs on the way into Nobu, but stopped to challenge a member of the paparazzi who called her "drunkie".

As she exited the restaurant, Dickinson waved her scarf at the press and said: "You guys are like insects."

When one photographer described the star as "a great distraction", she asked who had made the comment before responding.

Dickinson said: "You know what, you're a f**king great f**king distraction... you f**king a**hole. You're a f**king a**hole. I'm still after you. You're a c***."

When she was snapped getting into her car on the driver's side, Dickinson tried to chase down one paparazzo who she believed had tried to take a photograph up her dress.

"You come here. Delete. If he f**king deletes it it's fine. He f**king got it when I went into the car and did my [dress]. I'm going to f**k him up. F**king a**hole," she added, before returning to the passenger seat of the car.

Jennifer Garner Tells Paparazzi “Shame, Shame, Shame!”

Jennifer Garner is sick and tired of the paparazzi that incessantly hound her and her family. "Because my husband and I are public figures, it is assumed that our daughters are public figures, and there’s nothing to protect them," Jennifer says.

"There are almost as many video cameras as there are film cameras and the situation has shifted so that a huge amount of their focus is put on the children of celebrities," she goes on to say.

There's a mob of paps pretty much living outside Jennifer's and Ben Affleck's home, hoping to get a glimpse of beautiful 3-year-old Violet and her little 4-mos-old sibling, Seraphina Rose. Jennifer says that the daily preschool run is torture.

"When we go to preschool, there are so many paparazzi there that they are knocking kids on the heads with cameras and knocking them down," Jen says. And they aren't happy with just one photo, either. The photographers are constantly calling out to Violet, trying to catch her eye.

"There are huge numbers of them - and they’re aggressive. They talk to her. They yell at her. They try to get her attention. They try to get her to react. It is a shame, shame, shame."

Fawcett lashes out at paparazzi

Former sex symbol Farah Fawcett, 62, reportedly terminally ill with cancer, has blasted paparazzi and the celebrity culture for invading her privacy and spoiling the last years of her life.

In an interview published on Monday in the Los Angeles Times the star of the original Charlie's Angels, who is reported to be close to death, said the unwanted attention had made her battle with cancer more difficult.

"It's much easier to go through something and deal with it without being under a microscope," said the terminally ill star. "It was stressful. I was terrified of getting the chemo. It's not pleasant. And the radiation is not pleasant."

Being under a microscope

"I'm a private person," Fawcett said. "I'm shy about people knowing things. And I'm really shy about my medical (care). It would be good if I could just go and heal and then when I decided to go out, it would be okay. It seems that there are areas that should be off-limits."

"I'm holding onto the hope that there is some reason that I got cancer and there is something, that may not be very clear to me right now, but that I will do."

The interview was released days after her long-time companion Ryan O'Neal revealed that Fawcett had stopped treatment in what was seen as an indication that she was close to death.

Other reports said that her jailed son had been given special dispensation to see her and that she had also said goodbye to her 91-year-old father with a note: "I've lived a full and wonderful life. I've loved and been loved. I'm happy. I'm ready."

Have celebrities finally snapped?

Amy Winehouse's injunction against the paparazzi reveals a growing frustration with picture agencies and their methods

You may have noticed that, while just a few months ago you couldn't open a tabloid newspaper or celebrity magazine without seeing a photo of Amy Winehouse - usually taken late at night with the singer in a dishevelled state - there haven't been many pictures of her recently.

The Guardian revealed over the weekend that Winehouse had successfully, and relatively quietly, obtained an injunction preventing picture agencies, and the photographers who work for them, from following her and gathering outside her house. A sign outside her new home since 30 March has warned photographers not to come within 100 metres. The pop star Lily Allen won a similar injunction earlier in the same month preventing two picture agencies - Big Pictures and Matrix Photos - from harassing her, approaching her within 100 metres of her home, or taking photographs when she is in the homes of her family or friends.

Both follow an action brought by the actor Sienna Miller, who sued Big Pictures, one of the biggest agencies for celebrity photographs, for harassment and invasion of privacy, and was awarded £53,000 in damages and costs as part of a settlement that resulted in the agency's photographers being forbidden from following her. Alan Williams, the chief executive of Big Pictures, declined to comment on the injunctions, except to say: "We believe in the right of a photographer to take pictures in a public place."

Celebrities have increasingly turned to injunctions against the paparazzi, claiming an inability to live ordinary lives. How did the once-umbilical relationship deteriorate so much? After the death of Princess Diana, there seemed to be a collective surrender by paparazzi photographers. But with the internet and the success of celebrity magazines creating demand, as well as the growth in the number of amateurs, there are now more paparazzi than ever. In Los Angeles, they are known as "gangbangers", says Nick Stern, a British photographer who divides his time between London and LA. Last year, Stern resigned from Splash picture agency, when he felt the hounding of Britney Spears had gone too far. When Spears was taken to hospital in February last year, the ambulance needed at least 12 police motorcycles to escort it through a swarm of photographers.

The picture of Spears having her head shaved is rumoured to have fetched around £250,000. "Some days there would be 30 or 40 people trying to take her picture. There is very little skill, technical or journalistic, involved - it's just a crazy fight, pure aggression and persistence," Stern says.

The publicist Max Clifford remembers one instance last year when he was in a car "with someone who had done something they shouldn't with someone", and a photographer chasing them on a motorbike came off the road and nearly hit a woman with a pushchair. "He didn't have any regard for his safety or those around him. That's what you're up against now. It is more fierce, confrontational and competitive. The atmosphere has changed."

Clifford blames "over-enthusiastic amateurs ... ruining it for the rest". Before, there was usually an informal agreement between professional paparazzi and the star - the star would pose for a picture, and in return the pack would largely then leave them alone. Now, anybody can pick up a decent digital camera and a laptop with mobile broadband for a couple of thousand pounds and become a paparazzo. Even photographs snapped on mobile phones can reach dizzying sums - the Mirror is thought to have paid about £100,000 for the grainy phone footage of Kate Moss appearing to snort cocaine.

"I know it can be presented as celebrities not wanting photographs to be taken, but this is more about the extraordinary lengths that [photographers] will go to get pictures," says David Sherborne, the barrister who represented Allen, Miller and Winehouse. "It makes doing everyday things that you or I take for granted miserable and dangerous." Sherborne says he thinks more celebrities will seek injunctions, "when they realise something can be done about it".

In a newspaper interview a few weeks ago, Allen described an incident when she left her house and photographers in seven cars followed her. "I turned into a T-junction and they all ran a red light, then tried to overtake on the inside. A woman had to slam the brakes on her car as they cut in. I braked too, of course, and this guy ran into the back of me. I got out of the car. I was shaken up ... Instead of talking to me, like a decent human being would, he got his camera out and started taking pictures, and I just thought, 'I've had it with the press, I can't do this any more.' I got back into the car and called my lawyer."

Dan Bozinovski is one of the photographers affected by Allen's injunction, though he denies that he has ever behaved in an unacceptable way. How does he feel about celebrities taking out injunctions? "I think there should be some way of regulating photographers, rather than taking out injunctions against whole agencies.

"A certain class of people is going to become untouchable. The more money you have for lawyers, the more privilege you can buy." Celebrities can't have it both ways, he says. "A lot of publicity [for Allen] has been generated through us. When she had an album out, her PR was working overtime to tip us off about where she would be. That's the game."

That said, Bozinovski does admit the pack has become "much worse. Most photographers are freelancers who joined the industry in the last couple of years. There are so many more photographers now, so people aren't making as much money and they're getting desperate for that great shot." He says that he has been sworn and spat at, and colleagues have been beaten up by bouncers and celebrities' security guards. "I don't know if I'll be doing it by the end of the year," he says. "It's getting harder, for less money and you have to risk more and more."