See on Scoop.it – PRG HAWAII NEWS WITH RUSS ROBERTS
HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii state Senate passed the so-called Steven Tyler Act Tuesday, a bill that seeks to protect celebrities from overeager paparazzi by creating a civil violation if people take unwanted photos or videos of others in their…
Russell Roberts‘s insight:
Some people aren’t going to like this bill. Free speech advocates may claim the public’s "right to know" is greater than a person’s privacy. Others will say privacy is what you lose when one becomes famous. Aren’t you glad you’re not famous? Aloha, Russ
See on news.yahoo.com
Filed under: prgnewshawaii
So, Russ, how do you handle the constant paparatzi pressure?
Mike
Since I became a “nobody” in September 2011 (retired, so to speak), I haven’t had to worry about paparatzi. When I was doing the news, I made it a point of asking permission to quote “people of significance” or to take a picture. In most cases, I was able to work something out in “neutral territory” or to schedule a specific time to do “my press thing.” I was never refused an interview or a photo-op. I surely missed a few revealing photographs or some choice, off-the-cuff remarks, but I did make some interesting interviews. I always made it a policy to send a copy of my interview to the person I had as a guest. Just common decency. That’s why I never got a major press award for breaking news or some illicit photo. Although I always admired the top-tier news professionals, I never could stand the paparatzi. They seemed like flies on a rotting piece of fruit. Of course, many of the professional news photographers I met during my tours with Uncle Sam were a class unto themselves, including Hawaii’s own Bob Jones (KGMB-TV), Joe Moore (KHON-TV), and others I can’t remember. These guys were in combat and had the most difficult photographic task imagineable. I guess I’m not attracted to that kind of photojournalism. About the only pressure I get these “daze” is to complete my wife’s shopping list or finish up some last minute lesson plans for my teaching assignments (they tend to come in late at night). As for the new privacy bill, I can sympathize with Steven Tyler and Mick Fleetwood (both have homes on Maui). But, then again, as one of my old news buddies told me “they knew the job was dangerous when they got into it.” Aren’t you glad you lead a somewhat “normal life” (whatever that means)? Thanks for the feedback. It’s time to return to my geometry lesson plan for my 6th graders. One of these days, I’ve got to get organized! Aloha….Russ