Press Complaints Commission Reacts To William & Kate Paparazzi Chase
Written by Joanne Leyland
Saturday, 06 October 2007
Page 1 of 2
The Press
Complaints Commission has become involved over the debate over royal privacy following Friday’s chase of Prince William
and Kate Middleton through the streets of London.
In a statement released in the aftermath of Prince William’s decision to make
public his concern over the matter, the PCC clarified the situation as it
stands, explaining: "While freelance photographers are not directly
regulated by the Press Complaints Commission, newspaper and magazine editors
who are must take care not to publish photographs which are taken as a result
of harassment."
Continues the PCC, which has been criticised by some in public life as a 'toothless' self-regulatory body of the press: "It
can of course be difficult for editors to establish the exact circumstances in
which a photograph is taken. But
it is of the utmost importance not to use photographs which have been taken in
a manner that may have compromised the safety of individuals, which may include
pursuit in vehicles."
Speaking in the hours after the incident which
clearly had eerie similarities to the circumstances which led the Paris crash
which killed Diana, Princess of Wales, a number
of professional photographers have been attempting to make clear that the
problem lies with a small group of people who are unregulated by photo agencies
and the newspapers.
According to royal photographer Ian Lloyd, a new breed of "rough and tough"
paparazzos have become prevalent in London and other major cities across the
globe.
Such people – who are primarily relatively young and often have little or no training in the ways of the media or
indeed photography – are, according to Mr Lloyd, simply out to earn as much
money as they can by photographing famous faces.
As seen in the final years of Diana's life, some of the more
unscrupulous sections of the paparazzi attempt to annoy or upset
their quarry so as to produce a reaction, resulting in a rise in the 'value' of the resulting set of images.
