48972 media blackmail

You are a photographer:
You make your living from getting the shots people pay to see. There’s
a lot of pressure and competition in your line of work. On the one hand
everyone says you should give people their privacy but on the other hand,
they follow the stories and photos that are private.
The rich and famous like to complain about you but the fact of the
matter is that many of these celebrities become rich and famous because of
people like you. The celebrities who remain in the headlines stay relevant so
they should be thanking you –there are plenty of talented people who would
love to be in their shoes.
People say you’re breaking the law when you invade people’s privacy
but it’s not as simple as that. It is legal to take someone’s photo when they
are in public whether they want you to or not. People are recorded or have
their picture taken in public by businesses and the government all the time.
Why doesn’t anyone complain about that?
You are trying to blackmail ________ (the famous talk-show host). This is
technically illegal so perhaps it would be better to officially use the term
“negotiate.”
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You have photos and video of while she was on holiday.
You were able to secretly photograph her because you were an
“undercover” guest at the same hotel –you were tracking her.
She was being very disrespectful to some hotel staff at a private resort:

shouting at them, cursing at other guests and even attacked someone.
It was obvious she had been drinking.
She promotes an image of being stylish and good natured but the
whole time she was at the resort she dressed and acted like a cranky
old woman. What would her fans think of that?
She wants all your photos and video but you know they’re worth a lot
of money to you and could cost her a lot of money. Try to get £2 million
for the photos.
She has recently launched her own clothing label “Be.” However you
have obtained footage of the sweatshop workers in Indonesia who
make “Be” clothing.
These people are treated like slaves and earn less than €10/month to
make clothing with an average retail price of €65 for a “Be” blouse.
If consumers saw how these people work, it would mean the end of
“Be” before it even starts. She will have to pay hundreds of millions of
Euro to keep this secret.


You are a Media owner:
You own an online celebrity news site (www.celebritystatus.com). Some
people refer to your site as tawdry and tabloid news however that isn’t
accurate. The term industry news is more accurate because if it wasn’t news
then no one would care. Your site represents what people are obviously
interested in.
One thing your critics do very often is raise the events which claimed
the life of Princess Diana. They say people like you are responsible for her
death. While you agree it was a terrible tragedy people should keep in mind
that her driver had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit –he never should
have been driving in the first place.
You feel people put blame on you

but don’t admit most people seem to follow the stories behind the photos
you publish. When people stop following celebrity stories with celebrity
photos then your site won’t provide such content. Besides, famous people
should feel honoured that people are so interested in their lives and they
should thank people like you for keeping them relevant.
You are trying to blackmail (this is technically illegal so use the
expression “Let me make you an offer”) ______, you know ______ the famous
golfer.
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One of your free lance agents has some very compromising photos of
him and if he wants doesn’t want the video released then he has to
pay for it.
He presents himself as being a wholesome family man but that isn’t
the image your hidden videos support.
You have a video of Lech at a night club: he was surrounded by
beautiful young women and was sharing a table with Russian mafia
bosses.
Some of the people at his table were doing drugs and this is also on
video.
He earns a lot in sponsorship through promoting various products; he
stands to lose many contracts if this video receives a lot of attention.
You know the video you have of him would be very damaging to his
image so see what you can get for it. You estimate €100 million to be
about right.

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If he doesn’t want to pay that much then perhaps he can give you a
counter offer with money and something else.

You are the world’s number 1 ranked Golfer.
Where ever you go, there are photographers. Whether it’s in a club, on
your yacht, skiing or out and about, there are always photographers. Why
should they get to make money off of you? They think that you need them
but nothing could be further from the truth –they need you.
The paparazzi don’t add any value to anything. The photos they take
are almost always scandalous and none of anyone’s business. People are
jealous and envious of your success, they try to build you up and then tear
you down. You admit that there are benefits to being famous but you’ve
worked hard to become the best in your discipline, you should be able to
enjoy your hard work.
By maintaining a clean-cut image, you’ve attracted many sponsors:
Patek Phillipe, Puma and Ralph Lauren are your biggest contracts. You
already have a photographer to take pictures of you. This allows you to have
more control over your image and your image allows you to make hundreds
of millions of Euro every year. The paparazzi are so irresponsible that they
could ruin your reputation (cost you a lot of money) if they took pictures of
you or recorded you doing something you want to keep private. You’re
getting married within a year so it’d be nice to keep a low profile in public,
your fiancée doesn’t enjoy the attention that comes with marrying a
celebrity.
Someone is trying to blackmail you.
• You were at a nightclub a couple weeks ago. You didn’t even want to go

but some Russian “businessmen” insisted that you go out with them
and things got out of control.
• Your fan base is rather religious so you have to make it look as though
you are too.


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The problem is that you received A LOT of attention from young women
at the club but you didn’t do anything except drink your drinks and try
to be pleasant.
The other problem is that there were some people doing drugs at the
table you were at. You had no control over this, it’s not like anybody
would have listened to you if you told them to stop.
It’s true that you were having a good time but you didn’t hurt anyone.
You CANNOT let that material get out into public; it would ruin your
image and your fiancée may not understand.
Try to either pay them off (€1.5 million) or see if you can do some
favours for them.
If they get too greedy then let them know that your friends from the
nightclub may not like their pictures in the media.


You are a model and fashion designer.
Where ever you are, you can count on one thing: there will be

photographers. Frankly speaking, you’re not that bothered with them
anymore, in fact you’re rather used to them. You wouldn’t be where you are
today if your face hadn’t been in the news so often.
You have been in the public eye for over 10 years (13 to be exact) and
you’re now at a transition stage in your career. You became famous through
being a talk show host. You have influenced many women’s lives through
promoting positivity, generosity mixed with style and confidence. Your
popularity and influence is so great that you and your investors are preparing
to launch your very own clothing label “Be.” Be is for the modern woman
who wants everything she can get out of life.
It’s very important for you to properly manage your image and to be
honest your best image is how people remember you 5 years ago. One can’t
stay young forever and you just don’t understand today’s young woman. The
best way to maintain your cultural influence and keep making money is to
stay out of the public eye. If “Be” becomes a success, you could become a
billionaire. You’d like to focus on business and try to make your products for
as little as possible but keep the quality high.
Someone is trying to blackmail you.
• It’s hard to imagine how anyone could blackmail you but you recently
took your family on a vacation at a private resort. Maybe that’s what
this meeting is about.
• While there you were feeling very much under the weather and were
on medication the entire time.
• Somehow your luggage got misplace or stolen so you had to borrow
some clothing from your mother for a few days. You drank a bit and the
combination of alcohol and medication was not a good one. You don’t
remember a lot of the vacation because of it.
• Maybe it was because of how you were dressed but one of the workers
thought you were a maid and tried to make you get back to work –you
became very angry.

• You and your sister had a huge fight over her husband, she called you
a ******** and you attacked her (unsuccessfully).
• If anyone has pictures of this vacation then you must prevent their
release within the next year. Normally it wouldn’t matter but your
clothing label can’t suffer from any negative publicity.