THE «PAPARAZZI EXPERIENCE»

Celebrity obsession has officially hit new heights. While Hollywood stars bitterly complain about paparazzi ambushes, some San Diegans are actually paying for the experience.The photographers surrounding Flatts last Saturday night work for Private Paparazzi, a San Diego-based company that charges $350 a hour to send fake paparazzi to follow clients, snap photos, draw attention and make them feel like stars.The company is one of several outfits across the nation, including Your Paparazzi for Hire in Boston, Celeb-4-A-Day in Austin and King of Clubs in Las Vegas, trying to capitalize on Americans' fascination with Hollywood life. Some even provide publicists and beefy bodyguards.In this media-saturated age, having your picture taken is a status symbol, said Jonathan Taplin, a pop-culture expert and communications professor at the University of Southern California. Like reality shows and YouTube, faux paparazzi feed the idea that anyone can be famous, even without talent.
“It is indicative of a larger obsession we have with being famous,” Taplin said. “These people spend too much time watching 'Entertainment Tonight.' ”

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