Tell Tabloid Press Where To Get Off Trash Journalism A Boycott Would Send The Right Message To Publishers.

As is so often the case, it takes a tragedy to realize that something needs changing. Although all the facts are not in, public opinion has fixed the blame for Princess Diana’s death on a group of paparazzi in pursuit of her car just before it crashed in a Paris tunnel.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, it is clear that this tragedy has started a worldwide backlash against all photographers.

But photojournalists who work for their community papers share little in common with members of the paparazzi. Mainstream photojournalists are storytellers, motivated by the desire to capture a snapshot of their community. Paparazzi are driven by one thing only: the money they can make from the sale of celebrity images. It is photography without a conscience.

Paparazzi have earned a backlash. But photojournalists in general have not. It will be unfortunate if the good work of community journalism gets lost in the backlash. Photojournalism helps us see the human faces of beauty and compassion, suffering and injustice. These things aren’t always pleasant to view but they’re important to face.

What this tragic week has shown us is that the world loved Princess Diana more than she ever knew. Photography helped create her image. The paparazzi may have contributed to her death.

On Saturday, as her funeral procession passes the mourning masses, paparazzi likely will be there for another feeding frenzy. But this time, there will be no shy smile of a princess to capture on film.

As public opinion rages on against the paparazzi, it’s time for all of us to make a stand against this trash journalism. Perhaps Europeans will try to regulate its practitioners. But self-regulation would be better. Supermarkets, prime purveyors of the tabloids, should share the burden of responsibility. They should move these publications away from checkout stands and impulse buyers.

Millions of tabloid buyers ought to consider the consequences of their appetite for celebrity news. By purchasing these rags, the people who loved and admired Princess Diana inadvertently helped create the market for intrusive pictures of her. A boycott would send the right message to publishers to stop buying pictures that invade the privacy of their subjects.

And it’s about time that celebrities stop using these same publications to further their own image.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: See the instigators? Just go to a mirror

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, EDITORIAL - From both sides CREDIT = Colin Mulvany Staff photographer