odysseus,
Paparazzi are also licensed photo journalists.
I am afraid you are very wrong there. I actually work as a freelance photojournalist, and there is absolutly no licensing necessary.
Sure, some counties hand out "press passes", which lets police and emergency crews know that the photographer is legit, and are often shown when you photograph at a public school-- something that happens often. They can sometimes be used to cross some police and fire lines. One county I used to work in did a background check. The State that I live in now does not issue credentials at all. Honestly, it is a first amendment issue, that the press don't need to be licensed. On one hand I actually prefered that photojournalists have the option of getting press passes from the police, but not require them. That can lend a certain amount of legitimacy when a photographer is working. But honestly, even when they are issued, we usually don't wear them.
Photojournalists will often times need to photograph kids. We do it pretty often, and sometimes it can be very uncomfortable for us, because many people don't know what we are doing, and there are often certain stigmas. But a real photojournalist will not do what was mentioned in the first part of the thread.
When I have to photograph kids, out on the street, in a park, etc, I will make a direct effort to find the parents first most of the time. Exceptions are during things like parades, where I will take a quick photo of kids interacting, and then I will approach the parents. If I can't find the parents, I either won't photograph, or I will find whoever is responsible for the kids at that time. Grandparents, friend, whoever. Either way, whenever I photograph kids, I am extremely cautious, and make sure everyone knows that I am there for a specific purpose.
Photojournalists also won't leave the scene if a parent comes over to talk to them. Our job has us interacting with the public on a daily basis, so we are used to explaining what we do, what we are looking for.
There is a possiblity that they were students, but I even doubt that. As mentioned before, when kids are taking photo classes in school (very popular classes usually), they are often times given specific assingments to get, many of those are candids, people on the street, kinds playing with pets, etc etc. Unfortunatly, most schools don't teach the kids how to interact with the public when they are taking photos.
If you see these kids taking photos of kids again, I would get a good description, a photo would be better. If you can approach, non aggresivly, I would, and try to talk to them. Find out if they are students. If they are, where. Call the school, talk to the photography professor, explain your concerns.
If they claim to be a staff photographer, they will have some sort of company ID most likely. If they are freelancing (like me), they may or may not have cards. I rarely carry cards anymore, since they never helped my business anyways, and they are just one more expense, and they don't prove anything anyways. If they are freelance, and you press them for confirmation, they should be able to provide you with the name of either an Editor, or another photographer that works for that publication, so that you can call and confirm that they do work for the paper.
Also, look at the gear they are using. A news photographer will likely have 2 or more large SLRs, often times digital, and a lenses. Usually the lenses, even the short ones will be fairly large, due to the speed of the lens. A pro 80-200 2.8 is much larger than a consumer 70-300 5.6.
I.G.B.