WASHINGTON -- Actor Michael J. Fox told a congressional
panel today how aggressive tabloid photographers intruded on his
father's funeral, bribed residents in a small Vermont town to
witness his wedding and sneaked into a hospital to photograph his newborn son.
"I strongly disagree with those who would argue that some sort
of Faustian bargain has been struck whereby public figures are fair
game, any time, any place, including within the confines of their
own homes," Fox told the House Judiciary Committee.
Fox and others who claimed harassment by paparazzi, the
aggressive, people-oriented freelance photographers, testified in
support of a bill to make it a federal crime for a photographer to
threaten or cause bodily injury in the pursuit of photographs or recordings.
Fox, star of such films as "Back to the Future," was joined by
actor Paul Reiser, star of the television series "Mad About You."
"This bill preserves the right to photograph celebrities in
public and sell the film, but cracks down on actions that would
jeopardize their safety," said Rep. Elton Gallegly, sponsor of the measure.
Although Gallegly claimed the bill was narrowly crafted to crack
down on aggressive tabloid photographers -- the death of Princess
Diana was referenced several times in the hearing -- news organizations regarded the bill as excessive and a violation of the
U.S. Constitution's free-speech protections.
"Bills like this one also would protect villains, frauds and
scoundrels against diligent photojournalists who would bring them
and their activities to light," said Paul C. Tash, executive
editor of the St. Petersburg Times.
[Freedom Forum First Amendment Ombudsman Paul McMasters testified that the bill would provide privacy protections that already exist, while at the same time unnecessarily restricting newsgathering.]
Committee members listened carefully as the actors described tales of abuse by seemingly ever-present photographers.
"They chased me on foot and in my car, yelled obscene comments
at my entire family, and literally staked out my home, on a 24-hour
basis, in hopes of capturing that one photograph that will win them
the bounty," Fox said.
Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde set the tone for the hearings by
observing that the freedom of the press "does not confer a license
to engage in criminal conduct in the interest of gathering news."
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