In an interview with Brandy Navarre, the vice president of X17 Inc., one of Los Angeles's top celebrity photo agencies, explains why the paparazzi is key to entertainment journalism. She reveals that not only do journalists benefit from the paparazzi, but the the celebrities themselves.
Lindsay Lohan August 2010 photo by x17
Why is the paparazzi so vital to entertainment journalism?
I think celebrity photography is important because we are defending the stretching the limits of the First Amendment each day. We are exposing truths about public figures in a medium in which there was previous no balance in the reporting — we show the stars how they really are rather than how their publicists want them to be portrayed.
How has your company contributed to the success of journalism?
X17 was at the forefront of the coverage of Britney Spears during her troubles in 2007/2008. CNN even called us to ask if their reporter and videographer could ride along with us to get the full story because they were uncertain about how to cover it. And then I was the first person to ever speak with and interview her close companion Sam Lutfi. X17 had the exclusive pictures that were published in almost every news and entertainment publication around the world and every similar website and on every broadcast network in the world. To be able to report a story so effectively, with such reach and such worldwide interest was amazing. It established X17 as a leader in celebrity photojournalism and reporting.
Why do people view the paparazzi in a negative way? What are you doing to change that point of view?
Some people think of the paparazzi as pests and sometimes we are — but so are all journalists. When people have something to hide, they don’t like us around. Granted, some people simply don’t want their photo taken and that’s part of it too but more often than not, we are working with the celebrities we photographer either directly or through their agents, publicists, or managers. Store owners tip us off when celebrity clients are shopping — the same with restaurateurs with famous diners. It’s free publicity for them and many times, the stars are getting something out of it too. What we do has become a big machine and there is more profiting from it than not.
x17
Lindsay Lohan August 2010 photo by x17
Why is the paparazzi so vital to entertainment journalism?
I think celebrity photography is important because we are defending the stretching the limits of the First Amendment each day. We are exposing truths about public figures in a medium in which there was previous no balance in the reporting — we show the stars how they really are rather than how their publicists want them to be portrayed.
How has your company contributed to the success of journalism?
X17 was at the forefront of the coverage of Britney Spears during her troubles in 2007/2008. CNN even called us to ask if their reporter and videographer could ride along with us to get the full story because they were uncertain about how to cover it. And then I was the first person to ever speak with and interview her close companion Sam Lutfi. X17 had the exclusive pictures that were published in almost every news and entertainment publication around the world and every similar website and on every broadcast network in the world. To be able to report a story so effectively, with such reach and such worldwide interest was amazing. It established X17 as a leader in celebrity photojournalism and reporting.
Why do people view the paparazzi in a negative way? What are you doing to change that point of view?
Some people think of the paparazzi as pests and sometimes we are — but so are all journalists. When people have something to hide, they don’t like us around. Granted, some people simply don’t want their photo taken and that’s part of it too but more often than not, we are working with the celebrities we photographer either directly or through their agents, publicists, or managers. Store owners tip us off when celebrity clients are shopping — the same with restaurateurs with famous diners. It’s free publicity for them and many times, the stars are getting something out of it too. What we do has become a big machine and there is more profiting from it than not.
x17
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