"The news media should be blamed for the unhealthy paparazzi culture and going to the extremes for sensational news. How far do you agree?"

I agree to a small extent that the news media should be blamed for the unhealthy paparazzi culture and going to the extremes for sensational news.

Firstly, the readers of the news play an important part in the cultivation of this unhealthy culture. Only when there is a demand will there be a supply. The readers and supporters of newspapers fulfil the "demand" portion, which will cause supply to rise. The readers only care about the news; they do not care about the ways and means they were obtained. They just continue buying the newspapers, without a care for the subjects of these news, who gets pestered by paparazzi, trying but failing to maintain the slightest bit of privacy. As such, the readers and supporters of these news are the main root of this problem.

Secondly, the paparazzi are not doing anything against the law, so the law enforcement have no right to arrest them. They are perfectly at liberty to interview others and to write news about them. Without suppression, the paparazzi will continue their work, and even more will also start to take up this job. No one else also dares to oppose the news publishers, for fear of being reported in the news. This lack of opposition has promoted the growth of this unhealthy culture.

However, the news media are also to blame. The news companies are desperate about earning money, and will try all ways and means to achieve their objectives. There is also competition between the reporters -- a survival of the fittest, where only those who are more effective stay and others are fired. The reporters will work hard as they can to get news from readers, from whom the companies earn money, and from whom the reporters' salaries are paid.