On the heels of ET‘s announcement that they would no longer be publishing unauthorized paparazzi photos of celebrity children, two other outlets have joined the cause: People magazine and Just Jared.
People was the main publication targeted by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard — the couple who has recently spearheaded this campaign — because People is considered a “classy” media outlet. In his letter about the change, People Editorial Director Jess Cagle wrote that celebrities like Bell and Shepard have “made the media more sensitive to the brutal tactics some freelance photographers use to get even the most innocent-looking shots of celebs’ kids at play.” Cagle joined People in January, and says that since he started, the staff at People has been aware that the publication “would not publish photos of celebs’ kids taken against their parents’ wishes, in print or online.”
Is that true? It doesn’t look like it. As noted previously, People has an entire section of its website devoted to celebrity babies. This is an area Cagle says will now be made up 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.” Although: He admits “there may be rare exceptions based on the news-worthiness of photos.” Wait, are “rare exceptions” in this slideshow of “February Birthday Babies” featured prominently on the “celebrity baby” page Tuesday morning? Because there are paparazzi photos of Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez, Rod Stewart, Robert Downey Jr. and Marcia Cross — with their kids. If those are considered “rare,” then People is doing what they say they’re doing. Or perhaps we are to believe that Garner, Lopez, Stewart, Downey Jr. and Cross are among those “stars who exploit their children one day, and complain about loss of privacy the next” — folks Cagle says will not be included in the ban. No word about whether Gwen Stefani – featured with her kids in a slideshow about her pregnancy style – would fit in that category either.
Perhaps there’s been a communication issue and Cagle’s message hasn’t really seeped through the whole organization. Many of his writers have likely been at People for a long time, long before he got there, and are used to a certain kind of content. It might take some time for them to adapt to this new world of integrity.
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