Therapists Want End to Britney Diagnoses

Radio station mix available online

(NEWSER) - Eager fans needn’t wait until December 2—Britney Spears’ new club-friendly album can now be previewed online, MTV reports. The singer released a six-song mix from the upcoming Circus on New York radio station KTU’s Web site. Readers' comments are nearly universal in praise. The pop princess gets personal, with lyrics aimed at the constant attention she receives from paparazzi. More»

Term goes the way of smelling salts as experts seek accuracy

(NEWSER) - “Nervous breakdown” has long been a catchall for psychological conditions as varied as depression and schizophrenia. But as psychiatric patients emerge from stigmatized isolation—and as the DSM fattens—scientists are chucking the antiquated term in favor of a more descriptive and accurate taxonomy. “I haven’t heard that term in years,” one expert tells MSNBC. More»

Brit, LiLo followers face jail time for blocking sidewalks

(NEWSER) - Even Britney Spears’ paparazzi can’t stay out of trouble, the Los Angeles Times reports. Late Tuesday and early yesterday, Los Angeles police arrested four shutterbugs for blocking sidewalks in their hunt for tabloid-worthy shots—part of a crackdown, using existing loitering and traffic laws, on increasingly aggressive photographers. All four men face up to a year in prison and $1,000 in fines. More»

Media swarm Britney, Amy, but leave Heath, Kiefer in peace

(NEWSER) - There's a clear gender disparity in the obsessive media coverage of celebrity meltdowns, writes the New York Times. Just compare the relative restraint Entertainment Tonight exercised in holding back a video of Heath Ledger doing drugs with the news outlet gusto that greets the latest Amy Winehouse or Lindsay Lohan misbehavior. Or compare Kiefer Sutherland's jail stint to Paris Hilton's. More»

She and Sienna Miller tell UK ethics panel about media 'siege'

(NEWSER) - The media ethics panel set up in Britain in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal is getting an earful today from some high-profile witnesses:

• JK Rowling: The Harry Potter author complained that a journalist once slipped a note into her 5-year-old daughter's school bag requesting an interview, reports the BBC . "I can't put an invisibility cloaking device over myself or my house, nor would I want to. (But) it feels threatening to have people watching you." She also said reporters posed as tax officials to get personal information from her husband.