Taking Robert Post's seminal article 'The Social Foundations of Reputation and the Constitution' as a starting point, this volume examines how the concept of reputation changes to reflect social, political, economic, cultural and technological developments. It suggests that the value of a good reputation is not immutable and analyzes the history and doctrines of defamation law in the US and the UK. A selection of Australian case studies illustrates different concepts of defamation law and offers insights into their specific nature. Drawing on approaches to celebrity in media and cultural studies, the author conceptualizes reputation as a media construct and explains how reputation as celebrity is of great contemporary relevance at this point in the history of defamation law.
Biography
Dr David Rolph is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney Faculty of Law, specialising in torts, media law and intellectual property. He has published extensively in these areas in refereed journals. His principal area of research interest is defamation law.
’Adding the concept of celebrity to property, honour and dignity as the three concepts of reputation identified by Robert Post, Dr Rolph’s research goes far beyond a consideration of legal principles and encompasses historical and sociological analysis. His argument breaks new ground and he is to be warmly congratulated.' James L.R. Davis, The Australian National University, Australia
