LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Inspired in part by Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell's call for a boycott of magazines that publish paparazzi pictures of celebrity children, People mag editor Jess Cagle has enacted a new policy.
"Of course, we still run a lot of sanctioned photos -- like exclusive baby pictures taken with the cooperation of celebrity parents, and photos of stars posing with their kids at events (like a red carpet) where they're expecting and willing to be photographed," Cagle, who took over People in January, said in an Editor's Letter. "But we have no interest in running kids' photos taken under duress. Of course, there may be rare exceptions based on the newsworthiness of photos. And there's always the tough balancing act we face when dealing with stars who exploit their children one day, and complain about loss of privacy the next."
Cagle cited the work of celebrity moms Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry, who have testified against aggressive members of the paparazzi in California.
Most recently, Shepard and Bell spoke out against the "pedorazzi" in a series of tweets chastising People for their use of unsanctioned celebrity photos.
dear @peoplemag -scaring & harassing kids isn't "entertainment news". pls agree to stop using #pedorazzi shots. #nokidspolicy RT IF U AGREE
— Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) February 1, 2014i apologize 2 those who must be annoyed all my tweets relate to the #pedorazzi. i feel strongly on this issue & really want to see change
— Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) February 1, 2014"We pray that one of the classier weeklies, like People, will enact a no-kids policy, and that they will be rewarded by the consumer for doing so. And we hope that leads to others following suit. It would be miraculous if the situation changed and celebrities' children got to be just children."
Two other outlets, Just Jared and Entertainment Tonight, have made similar proclamations.
Shepard praised their actions on Twitter Tuesday.
"I woke up to the BEST NEWS! @peoplemag is joining the fight against #pedorazzi with a #NoKidsPolicy !!!! I knew they would be first. #class," he wrote. "Thank you @JustJared for joining the good guys. We recognize you have the most to lose by taking this stand. Thanks for the integrity."
As AdWeek points out, however, both Just Jared and People are still running photos of celebrity children published before the new guidelines. No word on whether they plan to remove them.
[AdWeek]
