By JENNIFER BOWLES

LOS ANGELES -- They're the so-called video paparazzi, or in some circles "stalk-arazzi," who earn a living hounding stars and selling footage to an ever-increasing slew of tabloid TV shows.

"Celebrities are the ones out with their new boyfriends or girlfriends, and they don't like to be caught while they're doing that," says freelance videographer Alan Zanger. "That's too bad. That's part of life. They have to expect it."

ER hunk George Clooney has refused to do interviews with Entertainment Tonight and Hard Copy, both shows produced by Paramount Pictures Television Group, after Hard Copy aired a segment about his girlfriend, Celine Balidran.

Clooney was particularly angered because the segment broke a deal the actor had with Paramount Television president Frank Kelly to keep him off Hard Copy.

"I understand I'm a celebrity," Clooney says, speaking over the telephone from the set of his new movie Batman And Robin. "I make a good living, I don't ask anybody to feel sorry for me and I don't expect anyone to.

"But I think that we all should be afforded certain civil rights and some of them are you can't put bounties on people's heads, and have people try to jump in your window for $300,000 to get a picture of you and your baby," he said, referring to Madonna's recent delivery.

Clooney's boycott has gathered steam - lots of it. Whoopi Goldberg, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Demi Moore, Steven Spielberg and James Garner all have signed up.

Following telephone conferences with Clooney and other celebrities, Paramount executives implemented guidelines.

`STAY ON TOP OF IT'

The executives said their shows would reject footage in which the subject was harassed solely to provoke a reaction, footage that shows the celebrity's home address, unauthorized footage of celebrities or their children in the privacy of their own homes, or footage known to have been illegally obtained.

And now every night, Clooney says, he videotapes the show to watch its use of paparazzi video.

"My responsibility now," Clooney says, "and the hard part of this, is to monitor it and stay on top of it and see if there are any changes at all."

But Zanger, who has sold his footage on a regular basis to Hard Copy - including the infamous videotape of Alec Baldwin and wife Kim Basinger arriving home with their new baby - says he has followed those rules anyway and that they won't affect the way he nabs celebrities.

"I don't break the law, so I kind of go by those rules anyway," Zanger says. "I totally agree with what they said. I will not antagonize someone to get a reaction."

Zanger criticizes Clooney's movement, saying he's just using his clout against something that serves a celebrity-hungry public.

"They have so much power in the entertainment industry they're using their power and wealth to try to make the shows not buy our material," he says.

"But they need our material because the public wants to see it."

Plus if Hard Copy doesn't want the video, he says, "someone else will."

While Clooney's campaign targets Hard Copy, he says he would like to see tabloid TV in general clean up its act.

"The point is you fight a war basically one battle at a time and that's the only way you win and get inroads," he says. "At least the people who are involved will be able to say `Hey, we gave it a shot.' That's all you can do."