The Los Angeles Times has a very interesting new piece on how Britney Spears’ recent behavior is affecting the paparazzi. Since Britney toned down her antics and began behaving herself in recent months, paparazzi business has been way down. And you thought gas prices were a killer.
Some prize excerpts from the article:
"At the height of the story, we had maybe six or eight guys on it round the clock," said Chris Doherty, owner of INF, which sells pictures to magazines, websites and TV shows. "Now we would have at most two. There's no real point to being there all the time."
"Her father is doing what a good parent would do, but that doesn't help the paparazzi," said Bonnie Fuller, who was editor of Star magazine and Us Weekly when Spears was a staple.
"Then [an exclusive photo] could sell for $10,000 to $15,000, but now it would be hard to get over $1,500.”
You know, I expect better from people who dig through the trash and hide in the bushes to get photographs. Don’t blame Britney for your troubles. This is what happens when you stake so much of your company’s success to one person. I learned a similar lesson in 2003 when I ran an insurance sales business and hired a guy named Billy Chamberlain to handle all the in-person sales pitches. He just didn’t have the people skills to go to all those customers’ houses and close deals, and it really hurt my bottom line. Oh, also he was a cat burglar. Yeah, he robbed like 30 people’s houses. It didn’t help with repeat business. I heard he even stole the tooth fairy money from under one little girl’s pillow. I’ll tell you, I wish I had a mulligan on that one.
