Get together with the members of your conversation group and discuss the questions below. It is advisable that you prepare the questions well in advance so that you won't be at a loss for ideas during the talking session.
Which celebrities are in the news at the moment?
What is the gossip about them?
Do you ever read gossip magazines or watch gossip programmes on TV?
What do people gossip about?
Which are typical places where people gossip?
Are famous people treated fairly in the media?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of being famous? Make two lists.
Would you like to be famous? Why (not)?
Do you think public figures should expect to be ambushed by photographers, or should they be off-limits when they aren’t in public?
What's your opinion about the paparazzi controversy?
Who is at fault here: the tabloid owners for publishing the photos, the photographers for taking them or the public for being so interested in the private lives of celebrities
Is losing privacy a fair trade-off for fame?
Do you think Kate Middleton is–or should be–in the same category as public figures who work in the entertainment industry?
If you believe that famous people should be “off limits” in their private lives, what do you think needs to change in order for that to happen?
To gain further background into the topic you can read IHT Rendezvous article Topless Royal Photos Expose Public's Bottomless Fascination by Harvey Morris.
photo credit: Gilderic Photography via photo pin cc
H/T to The New York Times Learning Network.
