Ashley Fox
Although COVID-19 has changed summer plans for some of our dual degree students, UNC’s MA/JD students in media law often intern at some of the nation’s top media organizations, think-tanks, and government agencies. These internships give students a chance to see the media law principles they’re studying in action and also practice and share what they’re learning with these organizations.
Last summer, Ashley Fox, a UNC MA/JD student and fellow with the new UNC Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP), interned in the Office of Information Policy (OIP) at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The OIP oversees federal agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. The office handles FOIA requests submitted by the public, adjudicates appeals from initial FOIA requests, publishes public guidance on FOIA, conducts training for FOIA practitioners in other government agencies, and reviews annual reports from those other agencies.
At OIP, Fox primarily worked with the Appeals team, where she reviewed FOIA appeals submitted by the public. She also helped to update the office’s guidance on certain provisions of FOIA and reviewed proposed legislation for potential effects on FOIA.
During her time at OIP, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, which clarified which information held by the government qualifies as “confidential.” If the information is confidential it does not need to be released under FOIA, the Court ruled. As a result, Fox helped draft new guidance for federal agencies on how to apply FOIA’s confidential information exemption.
Fox said the MA/JD program at UNC helped prepare her for her internship because it gave her important background knowledge about FOIA and the importance of government transparency.
“Knowing the importance of laws like FOIA and the government’s interest in protecting certain information helped me appreciate the work conducted by the attorneys in the office when they’re applying FOIA to decide what information to release and what information should be withheld under the law,” she said.
Fox said she saw that the OIP valued government transparency. “The staff and attorneys at OIP who are making decisions under FOIA really do want to get it right. Each day, they’re trying to balance the government’s desire––and sometimes need––to protect certain information with the public’s interest in knowing what their government is doing.”
Fox will intern this summer for a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. That internship will begin virtually in June.
Isabela Palmieri
Isabela Palmieri, a first-year MA/JD student at UNC, interned at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) in Philadelphia last summer. FIRE is a nonprofit organization that defends students’ and faculty’s First Amendment rights in higher education. Additionally, FIRE educates students, faculty, alumni, trustees, and the public about the threats to these rights.
During her internship at FIRE, Palmieri worked on policy recommendations for colleges and universities. She said that one of her favorite projects was working on a model policy about how universities allocate student fees. The policy focused on ensuring that public colleges and universities were designating fees in a constitutional manner.
At FIRE, Palmieri said she learned more about many different free speech issues in higher education, including the firing of professors for their views, revoking speaker invitations, and lack of recognition for or equal treatment of certain student organizations.
Palmieri said that the UNC MA/JD program in media law was great preparation for her internship at FIRE. She said she felt the program gave her an advantage and helped her stand out in the applicant pool.
“In law school you learn about broad First Amendment ideologies and how the law came to be what it is today, but working at FIRE made me see how those ideals affect higher education – from what student organizations should be recognized on campus, to what information students are allowed or not allowed to learn,” she said. “It made me realize how much First Amendment values influence our higher education institutions and how important it is to craft laws that protect both education and free speech.”
Palmieri was scheduled to intern at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia, but that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, she is taking a summer class and working on media law research, including her work on Anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions laws. Since 2015, twenty-seven states have enacted legislation prohibiting the boycotting of Israel by any entity procuring a government contract, called Anti-BDS laws. The laws raise several First Amendment concerns. Palmieri’s work in this area resulted in a second place student award in the Law Division of the Southeast Regional Colloquium of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
To support students who seek these summer experiences, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy administers a grant program to assist students who want experience in the areas of media law and media policy, including working at media organizations, nonprofits, law firms, advocacy groups, and research centers. The summer grant program provides funds to students taking unpaid or low-paying jobs in the fields of media law or media policy.
-Kriste Patrow, UNC Media Law Ph.D. Candidate
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