question_answer 13)

Discuss in pairs or small groups. 3. Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.    

Answer:

Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions. This is a very debatable statement. Do celebrities have a right to privacy? •             No, they don't. Nothing in life comes without a price. To achieve fame and fortune, celebrities trade privacy for recognition. People in the public eye amass enormous power. Feted by kings and presidents, they feature in serials and TV commercials and take home every day what most do not make in a year. Take away the public gaze and they will disappear like ghosts at dawn. Blame is easy; proof is tough.   An objection was raised to sting operation tactics that were deployed by certain journalists as an invasion of an individual's privacy.   However, the 'victims' of sting were people who ran the country, who defended its territory. They were prepared to trade all this for personal gain. Thus, in this case, we can argue that there is no privacy where crucial matters such as national security are concerned. Nevertheless, the celebrities need the journalists and the paparazzi, the magazines and TV need both and the public needs all of them. •             Yes, they do. Celebrities do need their privacy. Resorting to unethical and uncalled for activities such as gate- crashing into hospitals and the ICU should be condemned. !n their endeavour to be honest, such mindless acts can actually jeopardize a celebrity's health. This is not in public interest.   Yes, the adoring public has a right to know the truth about their idols but not at the cost of their mental, emotional or physical health. This is a heavy price for a celebrity to pay. Yes, public figures are answerable to society. But, only if they do not carry out the responsibilities conferred on them by society. If someone is doing something untoward and irregular in his public life, the media should chase him and expose any scam. That's their job, their moral duty. That's what democracy is all about. At the same time, what one does within the four walls of one's home is entirely one's own business. The media has no right to do a sting operation to reveal his personal moments.   The media has to ask itself some questions such as: Where does my responsibility towards the public end and where does irresponsibility begin?