Furthermore, if all reporting were subject to potential defamation suits, there would be a chilling effect on speech in
regard to news dissemination. Most newsgathering, like most knowledge, is second hand. Reporters rely on the
testimony, research, and scholarship of others to report the news. If reporters felt they were required to vet every third
party statement that they reported, they would likely curtail the information that they gather and disseminate to the
public. According to the Edwards court, "the interest of a public figure in the purity of his reputation cannot be allowed
to obstruct that vital pulse of ideas and intelligence on which an informed and self governing people depend." n102 For