Censorship and the Political Cartoonist

This paper examines the space within which cartoonists examine political subjects, analyses the Evans case, assesses the legal environment and the parameter within which mass circulation newspaper editors operate. We defend a wide icence for cartoonists and note that they, for the most part, unnecessarily fear defamation for in all likelihood the courts will interpret their work as comment rather than literal assertion of an assumed fact. This paper forms part of our continuing research into the role played by artoons and satire in political debate and opinion-making: are they mere entertainment, useful indices of public opinion, or positively nfluential in shaping political events?