In many Western jurisdictions, the use and place of laws which protect reputation are being questioned. This book presents an analysis of the results of an empirical study of the effects of defamation laws in New Zealand carried out in 2001 and 2002. The study sought to discover whether such laws have a chilling effect on the media, to the extent that stories with a high element of public interest are suppressed or edited, with detrimental effects on freedom of expression. Collection of data for the study essentially broke down into three parts: a survey of the media, a survey of...