This document provides a summary of a student's final report on the topic of privacy versus press freedom. The student conducted secondary research through online articles, videos, and books to understand relevant laws and cases. Primary research included a questionnaire, focus group, and case analysis. The focus group discussed clips of celebrities dealing with paparazzi and had differing opinions. Laws aim to balance privacy and press freedom, but many youth are unaware of these laws. The student evaluated their research as most beneficial for understanding both sides of the issue. Overall, the report examined the extent of press intrusion into celebrity lives and what constitutes a right to privacy.

1. FINAL REPORT
PRIVACY VS THE PRESS
ANGEL BASCOM 13FTO

2. INTRODUCTION
The freedom of expression versus the right to privacy, investigating to
what extent is it seen that the press have gone too far, how much public
figures (celebrities) lives are invaded and what rights, laws and acts are
in place in defense of both sides. I chose to do this subject as a choice
for research because I felt that it was something that would be of interest
and beneficial to know about –press/media laws. Especially seeing that
there are so many social media sites available to this generation that
allow us to look into the lives of public figures, almost like a „behind the
scenes.‟ Exclusive images or stories are able to spread faster and some
people consider the press/media to be highly influential, they‟ve the
power to portray people almost as they please be it in a positive or
negative light. I had felt that the key problems and ethical issues were
that some celebrities both public and private lives were constantly in the
eye of the public, in comparison to those referred to more as public
figures, for instance, MPs, the royal family etc. Looking into the matter
and investigate why that was the case and whether or not celebrities
have much or any control over what is published.

3. Aside from looking into the individuals lives a sub question was
how much if at all their family and close friends end up being
involved in stories featured. I aimed to find out what the general
public thought and if they felt as though a change should be
made in the way celebrities lives are invaded and how this
process happens. Also asking the public if they were aware of
any protection laws or those in place that allow the press to
post certain things.
How much celebrities private and personal lives are separated
in what the media publish. While also looking at how far the
press can actually go when finding a story or photo to publish.
Discovering the various laws and acts in place in the defense of
both sides of the topic, letting myself be tolerant and see it from
both points of views when undergoing my research.

4. HOW DID I RESEARCH
In order to carry out a balanced investigation, finding out as many things
possible from a variety of sources, I used different researching techniques and
methods.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Beginning with secondary research, I searched through videos, newspaper
articles, magazines, books, websites etc. anything else available for me to find
out about laws, acts, rights, rules and regulations, particularly around the press
- paparazzi. By using more than one type of research i.e. websites to videos, it
meant that I could find out a broad amount of information picking out the
important and necessary sections, ensuring that I made reference to each
piece of secondary research. Once finding the information I debated the
reliability of it – when published, who by, the company/individual etc.
Secondary research was very useful as I could look into what was already out
there and analyze it to expand my understanding, however, I also done some
primary research to help me gather the public‟s opinion on what I wanted to
personally know about.

5. PRIMARY RESEARCH
I created a questionnaire (source
16)from which I was able to collect
quantitative research from answers
given, finding out demographics of
those who participated which helped
aid my research. Besides from this I
also conducted a focus group I
asked them several questions and
showed them several clips regarding
the press and celebrities, recording
their answers and documenting the
results on soundcloud and my blog.
Some of the questions were
subjective therefore creating a
biased response from some
participants, but this allowed me to
compare the different opinions
expressed.

6. IMPACT OF FOCUS GROUPS
To the right shows
where I have looked
into another form of a
focus group and
researched the way in
which it has changed
the outcome of an
original movie. Some
where great
changes, while others
were considered
„minor‟ i.e. only the title
changing.
As an additional piece of research to go alongside my focus group
work, I found an actual case in which a focus group or „test screening‟
had been used and was effective to the extent that it actually
changed the outcome of the original piece of footage. By using an
example of a test screening it allowed me to find various situations
where the movie has been altered due to a test screening (another
form of focus group.)

7. RESULTS
WHAT LAWS, ACTS AND RULES ARE THERE?
Depending on the organization itself that is publishing information about
celebrities the rules for journalists and paparazzi differ to what they must
oblige to. However, overall the laws and rights in place would be the
freedom of press aka freedom of the media that collides with the freedom of
expression of communication, so that the press can publish a lot of material
that they want to. In regards to celebrities, there‟s the human rights act 1998
article 8 offering protection to a person‟s private and family life. Article 5 –
the right to liberty (the state of being free within society) everyone has a right
to security and liberty something no one should be deprived to. These were
facts found through secondary research referring back to yourrights.org.uk
and wikipedia.co.uk.
Via my controlled focus group, when I asked if anyone knew of any laws in
place only 2 people out of the 6 were able to answer with solid information
and background knowledge. This then raised to my attention that the
public, teenagers especially are unaware of what human rights acts are in
place for our private lives. Not only did I gather that they was unaware from
the focus group but within the questionnaire 60% were aged 15-20 and could
not answer whether or not the rules and regulations in place were effective.

8. WHAT LAWS, ACTS AND RULES ARE THERE?
To the left I have
indicated where
in my secondary
research it refers
to the human
rights acts.
The majorities
age of the
questionnaire.
How these two link
together, evidence showing that
50% of people were unsure of what
the rules and regulations in place
were

9. WHAT IS CLASSED AS PRIVACY?
There are overall privacy laws and rules in place which everyone has to
abide by. However, when asking the public‟s general opinion in a survey
there were mixed responses to this question.
As human‟s we have the right to a private; family life, home and
correspondence from arbitrary interference by the state. With acts like this it
provides support to all no matter class, race, gender etc.
From my various secondary research, it became clear to me that it was
mainly paparazzi companies that didn‟t highlight people‟s rights to privacy,
it was rarely stated. Although, when watching some clips of celebrities, and
even celebrity lawyers, they would have their own contract formed that
protects what they consider a private life. When the contract is breeched
by the media is when cases are formed and the celebrities do sue,
especially as nothing can legally be published without them being aware it
is to be featured.

10. WHAT IS CLASSED AS PRIVACY
Above I have indicated what part of my research helped me draw the conclusion
of what is classed as privacy and what may actually be published. Also the fact
that the press use the freedom of expression do freely publish what they please.
This was useful as it wasn‟t from the general perspective of a celebrity or someone
working in the press, but someone ( a lawyer) who must see it from both point of
views when arguing or putting forward a case. Therefore they have taken in all the
laws and rules in place before going through with any actions.

11. WHAT DO YOU CLASS AS PRIVACY
Phone hacking and harassments were key things that stood out when looking back at the
answers provided. Many people shared the same view that your private life is your
personal life and should be kept that way, when it especially regards their relationships
and family it their own business in which the public shouldn‟t need to know.
„personal information, calls, emails, photos‟ one person responded with, and this linked in
well with my research on how celebrities lives have been highly invaded. Below is the
information I found out about a phone hacking scandal in the USA amongst a variety of
celebrities.

12. VIDEO'S
The video‟s to me were the section of research where I could see and almost feel the emotion
expressed through the individual. In my focus group I showed them several clips of celebrities
being harassed by paparazzi and how the situations were handled depending on the people
involved. Most of the clips featured the Kardashian family and Kanye West, I chose this family
because they‟re reality stars constantly in the eye of the public with various age groups, from
babies to grown adults. It was useful to show real clips as it related to the secondary research
regarding what the celebrities can do if they are harassed and it visually portrayed how their
lives do get invaded.
Within the focus group there was mixed opinions towards the various clips shown, although,
what stood out for me was that when Kanye was shown as an aggressive arrogant person,
many of the group felt that he fed into the pap‟s trap and at times was un-necessarily rude
towards them.
Jameisha 18 stated “I wouldn‟t react that way, the best way to react is to be boring and do
what your doing… celebrities that over react it could be seen as a ploy to gain publicity.”
Franco 18, “they are human they deserve privacy, when you enter the entertainment industry
you become a public figure, people are clearly going to be interested in what you‟re saying.”
Rachel 17, “it‟s going to happen obviously if you are out on the street, but as long as there not
in their home then it‟s not invading their full privacy.”
Cassidy 17, “it works both ways, the celebs over react and the pap‟s are just there doing their
job.”

13. VIDEOS
In the video above as part of secondary
research it portrayed a neutral point of view. It
furthered my research because any comments
made were then followed up by supporting
evidence.
A quite useful piece research as it was from an
American speaking, therefore I was able to get
a better insight into the laws in place for
American celebrities, and some regarding the
press within that country.
By showing celebrities
reactions it combined with
the opinions given from
both the questionnaire and
focus group. Because it
was almost seeing the
reality of what was
asked, i.e. „does the victims
age matter‟ or „how far
can the paparazzi go.‟

14. CASE ANALYSIS
The case analysis of Kate Middleton‟s
leaked photos was a relevant piece of
research. It had me look into UK laws
and a real life situation regarding the
Royal family and how the press dealt
with the issue at hand. The photos were
removed from all newspapers and
websites, which are the only course of
action that I am aware of.
With the information found within this piece of research it mainly likes
back to my secondary research sources 15 and 2 regarding the PCC
and the human rights acts.

15. TO WHAT EXTENT CAN THE PRESS GO?
56% of those asked felt
that the celebrities
lives should not be
invaded.
However, interestingly
enough 38% felt that
sometimes their lives
should be invaded
The victims age is
relevant to how their
lives would be
invaded. There are
child protection laws
in place to prevent
children from being
exposed to the public.
I looked into this as relevant to the extent of the press, because age is
something that plays a huge topic as to being a public figure, and also
being harassed. Also, showing that some people actually did feel that
celebrities lives should be invaded almost appears to support the freedom
of press, from this I could conclude that these people are those who do
take some sort of an interest into what they see published.

16. EVALUATION
In my opinion I feel as though my research topic has been highly beneficial to
me, particularly as I was able to find out what different legal and ethical rights
lye behind the media. Specifically looking at the privacy and freedom of the
press because it could potentially be a part of my future career and I now have
further information and background knowledge regarding the matter.
The early stages of researching I found were the most successful as I was only
just starting out it provided a ground root of information. I think that one of the
most useful sources would be OFCOM, seeing as it is a well known and trusted
organization their rules and regulations were clearly indicated with backed up
evidence to support all that was stated. Another helpful piece of
research, which I found to be quite conclusive would be the various videos. This
was a qualitative piece, the videos covered news stories on what had lately
been in the press, some celebrities' view points and one even featured a
celebrity lawyer. By being able to see/hear various clips it meant that it differed
from the typical article or website with one or two people who‟ve published
their findings or opinions. The videos added a sense of realism, being a nonacademic source the content covered some psychographic information as
attitudes, emotions etc. were displayed.

17. EVALUATION
Overall, I think that I did find
out a lot, mainly to do with
the privacy rules/laws/acts
that are in place. I also
found out how hard it is on
celebrities who have families
or don‟t want the fame
aspect of their career. It was
useful looking at both sides of
the arguments as some
media companies did state
that it is their business to
deliver news or gossip
stories, so in one way they‟re
merely doing there job.
In my opinion I feel that the
best piece of research was
the secondary research as I
could draw comparison‟s to
what was already out there
and find things from all points
of views on the matter.
Within my report I do make reference to the
secondary research, and highlight the important parts
which helped the most, usually when referring back to
a sub question. However, too much time was spent on
primary research and I found that I began to stumble
across very similar pieces of information, repetition. But
it was good to also look at other countries, which
allowed me to come across new elements or sides of
the arguments and see how other countries privacy
and freedom of expression laws differ, i.e. USA,
Australian and the UK.
As I used a lot of information from the web, whenever
checking the reliability I would also do a background
check on the author. Some reliability is highly
questionable as it was dated years/months ago or the
author is unknown, or especially if the public have
access to editing the page. My secondary research
involved a fair amount of cross referencing as I wanted
to stay neutral to the investigation. I also had a sort of
method behind how I conducted the research, which
was to look into the facts and laws first regarding
privacy, then went into celebrity stories and varying
view points etc. as shown on my blog.

18. EVALUATION
It was beneficial to have primary research as a comparative source against my
secondary research, it developed my understanding as I asked questions on what I had
discovered to assets what people knew and what their opinions were. Some criticism
towards my primary research would be that it is reliable because I personally carried it
out and gained answers. However, a lot of it was based on people‟s own individual
opinions in comparison to solid facts that was available within the secondary research.
Although that being said it was helpful and I could see the way others felt on the
invasion of privacy to celebrities, how they would handle it and if they knew of any
privacy laws/acts that are in place.
When it came to choosing participants, I felt the question open to all to get a variety of
answers and see whether age had a role to play of what they thought. It was an
objective piece of research as I didn‟t imply anything through my questions.
Questionnaires were sent out via social media sites –facebook, tumblr and twitter, I felt
this was a good method because as many people as possible could access the
questionnaire and share their views.
With my focus group I used teenagers 17-18 of mixed gender, studying within the field
of media hoping to branch out to different careers. This was good as I could see what
this current generations thoughts were and especially those who want to go into the
media profession. I tried my best to stay neutral in the discussion so it wasn‟t
subjective, at most I would agree or disagree or simply explain more about what was
being asked. In conclusion I feel that the focus group was the better piece of primary
research as it was discussion based and offered examples of footage for them to
judge. The length was just right as it lasted just under 20 minutes.

19. EVALUATION
As another piece of research method for my primary research I done a
case analysis, this meant looking into and evaluating a real life situation
where a public figures privacy had been breached and what
organization's/laws helped for them to take action against the specific
media company.
I looked into depth regarding the Kate Middleton leaked topless
photos and what action took place against those. In my research I
found that it was only the Middleton‟s who complained about the
photos being published and in fact, no magazine‟s had published the
images, mainly well known newspapers.
If I could change anything about the case study it would be to get
more solid fact around the dates and times the incident occurred as
many sites I tried were vague regarding that. However, in doing a case
analysis I feel it enabled me to cage more of an understanding of my
research and be able to identify when someone‟s privacy has been
breached.

20. EVALUATION
All in all the research went well and I found out a lot of things I was
unaware of and it was good to then be informed of them all. However, I
would have liked to gain an interview with someone who works either as a
journalist, paparazzi, personal assistant to a celebrity, and a celebrity.
Having a one on one interview with either of these people would have
allowed me to get a fresh opinion and see how they deal with their job. So
I would see this as an inconclusive result as from an interview, I could
bounce of their response and even think of questions I may have not
thought of before.
Although overall I am sure I know of the laws and acts especially that are
in place in the UK and the legality behind publishing a story about a
celebrity.
In conclusion I think that the research was balanced and from doing this
final report I was able to cross reference and draw comparisons to what I
found out in the secondary and primary research. As previously
mentioned, my topic was interesting to me and I think it was a good
choice to have chosen.

21. WEBOGRAPHY
- Source 14: http://www.pointparkglobe.com/opinions/privacyprivilege-not-granted-to-celebrities-1.1813203#.Umz47xb7U00
- Source 13: http://omg.yahoo.com/news/celebrity-privacy-invasionscarlett-johansson-more-celeb-victims-170400559.html
- Source
12: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/7714/librar
ytrendsv39i1-2h_opt.pdf?sequence=1
- Source 11: http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/nationalprivacy-principles
- Source
10: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/10249758/K
ey-events-surrounding-deaths-Diana-Princess-of-Wales-and-DodiFayed.html
- Source 9: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/paparazziboundaries_n_2473951.html
- Source 8: http://hcc.haifa.ac.il/~rca/articles/PrivacyEthical%20%20Legal%20Considerations-CLR.pdf