Know who's not happy about Britney Spears trying to clean up her act, get her custody situation in order, and perhaps record some new music? The paparazzi. It's sort of been their job, and their windfall, to chronicle all of Ms. Spears antics (attacking a SUV with an umbrella, anyone?). Agencies would have entire crews stalking her around Hollywood, hoping she'd run someone over (perhaps a photog) trying to escape from a parking lot, stop by a public bathroom without shoes, or lay by the pool in her backyard as helicopters hovered above. Now? Now she might as well be Jessica Frickin' Biel: Girl is a waste.

Nick Stern, a veteran photojournalist who quit his photo agency in disgust at the apex of Spears' coverage, said many photographers who tracked her were foreigners drawn by the relatively easy money. When their access to Spears dried up, Stern said, they had no incentive to stay on the beat or even in the field.

"These guys don't really have any interest in the media or reporting news. It was about money. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the snappers covering Britney have moved on to other jobs or other parts of the U.S. or even back to their home countries," said Stern, chief photographer for the Australian agency Crocmedia.

Some have refocused on up-and-coming celebrities, including Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.

But you know who's tickled pink about the change in Spears mania? The pop star herself. And her neighbors.

An attorney for Spears said the singer did not miss the glare.

"Britney and her family are delighted to dis-incentivize the outrageous behavior of the paparazzi," lawyer Blair Berk said.

Her neighbors have noted the shrinking number of lenses camped outside the guardhouse.

"At the peak, there were 25, but now it's down to three or four," said Jim DeBoard, a resident of the Summit.

He said it had been about six months since he saw paparazzi breaking traffic laws to get behind Spears' vehicle.

"We are still all amazed at how crazy it was," DeBoard said.

[LAT]