Reed: Living a Celebrity Life Means Taking the Bad with the Good

Welcome back, folks. Although our last topic was deemed "boring" by our first poster, it has generated more feedback and more new posters than anything we have debated so far on Butt and ReButt. Thanks to all who have participated, and please spread the word.

This week, we are discussing whether or not media access to celebrities and public figures should be regulated by the government. Based on the flip of the coin, I will argue that those well-entrenched in the public eye do not warrant special protection from intrusion by the media.

On its face, the debate would seem to revolve around the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of the press versus and individual right to privacy. But the argument can be made that, while freedom of the press is specifically guaranteed in Amendment I of the Constitution, the "right to privacy" is a conceptual right granted through interpretation and application, not through specific mention in the Constitution.

Indeed, the privacy rights most Americans assume are "protected" exist only because courts have ruled that such rights fall under the protections assumed in Amendment IX, which reads, in part, "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other (rights) retained by the people (see: www.answers.com/topic/amendment-ix-to-the-u-s-constitution).

Both the first and ninth amendments to the Constitution were ratified in December, 1791. But not until after World War II were arguments heard before the U.S. Supreme Court that were based on protections provided through Amendment IX. The most famous of these, and the most controversial, remains Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights case. The finding rests almost entirely on the Court's perception that the privacy of the woman seeking an abortion was protected as one of the "other (rights) retained by the people" mentioned in Amendment IX.

But in 1986, the Court backed away from such a broad-brush approach to privacy rights in the case of Bowers v. Hardwick. In this case, a Georgia law outlawing "sodomy" between same-sex couples was ruled constitutional, in spite of the respondent's citing of Ninth Amendment precedents (see: www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/bowers). Then, in 2003, the Court again reversed itself in Lawrence v. Texas, overturning a law similar to the Georgia statute on the basis that government could not establish laws affecting the behavior of consenting adults in private settings (see: www.law.cornell.edu/html/02-102).

So it is clear that, even today, the constitutional waters regarding privacy rights remain murky. So we must often rely on a concept that is in woefully short supply today - common sense.

Common sense would dictate that we should be afforded privacy to do any legal thing we desire, unless of course we have sought out and achieved the attention of the public through our conscious actions. Such is the case with celebrities, politicians and others in the public realm. They have actively sought, and subsequently profited from, fame. So I would submit that, fame inevitably coming as the result of exposure to the public realm through media contact, any desire by a notable figure to protect his or her "privacy" can only be exercised in those cases where laws have been violated.

For instance, I don't think anyone would argue that Britney Spears would be within her rights to file charges against a photographer hiding in her closet. Such an interloper should be arrested and prosecuted under existing statutes pertaining to trespassing, breaking and entering and stalking. But Ms. Spears certainly has no cause to complain about the reporters and photographers gathered at the door of the rehab center, because it was these same journalists, and I use that term loosely, that made her the icon she is today, thus providing the wealth and fame she obviously desired.

The term "paparazzi" was unknown to most of us prior to the tragic death of Princess Diana. The term was coined from a character in a play produced by Federico Fellini, "La Dolce Vita". It is said that Fellini named the character "Paparazzo" based on a term from an Italian dialect that describes the annoying buzz of a mosquito. Quite apt, I would say.

The case of Princess Di and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed raised many questions about the excesses of the media. And while no one was ever prosecuted for her death, courts in Great Britain and France ruled that their was enough culpability to go around, and laws were broken. And this is the important issue - if a reporter or photographer is breaking the law, prosecute them. If they are not, then the protections afforded them by our Constitution must be respected.

It is easy, I suppose, for someone who idolizes a singer or actor to sympathize when their hero is fighting his or her way through jostling crowds with flashbulbs popping and Barbara Walters-wannabes hurling personal questions. But I find it hard to cry crocodile tears for people who hire agents to publicize their every move, who never miss an opportunity to find a photographer when they are at their best, and then complain when they pop up, uncombed and disheveled, on the cover of the tabloids or the lead story on "Entertainment Tonight."

"I have a life, and you should respect my privacy," is the constant refrain. Ah, but time goes by, and as talent wanes and the aura can only be preserved through massive amounts of plastic surgery, that aging star will long for the bygone days and complain about being "forgotten." Alas, such is the price of fame.

And it's not just the Hollywood types. I'm sure Senator Larry Craig figured he was safe from scrutiny, even though his dubious foot-tapping occured in a public restroom. I suggest that, if Craig had opted to avoid the limelight that comes from membership in one of the most august bodies in the world, his arrest would not have even made headlines in his hometown paper.

For those of us who find the attention paid to these celebrities disgusting, we have only ourselves to blame. Our thirst for dirt, our love of gossip and our incredibly short attention spans have created this monster, and some have thrived as a result. There is a cure, of course, but it is not government intervention. Rather, it involves the simple task of turning off the television, not buying the magazine, and seeking a more intelligent outlet in our quest for knowledge.

Alas, I am dubious that such will ever be the case. I told a friend during the recent presidential campaign that, if one of the candidates had been assassinated, the press would have broken away from the story to cover Britney's latest exploits.

So it seems our media is a mirror of our society, and the reflection is certainly not pretty. But our press is at least free, and guaranteed to remain so. That must never change.