Author Archive | John Remensperger

Freedom of Speech, Defamation, and Injunctions

As part of the Mary Junck Research Colloquium series, UNC Law Professor David Ardia will give a talk entitled “Freedom of Speech, Defamation, and Injunctions.” He will discuss his research on two centuries of case law surrounding injunctions in defamation cases, and the recent increase in court-ordered injunctions directed at defamatory speech, particularly speech on the Internet.

David  is an assistant professor at the UNC School of Law and a faculty associate at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.  He also holds a secondary appointment as an assistant professor at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is the faculty co-director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy.  Before joining the UNC faculty, he founded and directed the Berkman Center’s Digital Media Law Project.

The presentation will be on Thursday, February 21 from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Halls of Fame Room on the first floor of Carroll Hall.   The event is free and open to the public.

0

Kill Switches, Smart Mobs, and Freedom of Speech

As part of the Mary Junck Research Colloquium series, Elon University School of Law Professor Enrique Armijo will give a talk at UNC entitled “Recent Developments in Digital Communications Law and Policy:
Kill Switches, Smart Mobs, and Freedom of Speech.”  He will share his current research on the ways in which government control over communications infrastructure can pose a threat to free speech and discuss the tension between regulation of social media and freedom of expression both domestically and abroad.  He will talk about his work on international media law reform projects in Africa and the Middle East and discuss his approaches for developing research interests into projects.

Armijo is a graduate of the UNC School of Law.  You can read more about him at http://www.elon.edu/e-web/law/faculty/armijo_enrique.xhtml.

The presentation will be from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Freedom Forum Conference Center on the third floor of Carroll Hall.   The event is free and open to the public.

0

Interdisciplinary Lunch: Wikipedia as an Example of The Promises and Pitfalls of Peer-Produced Media

On Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, we will host an “interdisciplinary lunch” open to faculty and graduate students from across the UNC system. The topic will be “Wikipedia as an Example of The Promises and Pitfalls of Peer-Produced Media.” Launched in January 2001, Wikipedia today is the world’s sixth-most-popular website, visited monthly by approximately 12 percent of all Internet users. Wikipedia wields enormous influence as a primary information source, but it is often subject to criticism because of the mutable nature of its content and its policies on “reliable sources” and “neutral point of view.” Issues surrounding Wikipedia include but certainly are not limited to the degree to which it advances the goals of free speech and the marketplace of ideas, how its content and editing policies affect the openness of the site, and whether academics should contribute more to Wikipedia.

The lunch will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Friday, October 26 in the Halls of Fame Room on the first floor of Carroll Hall.  We will provide box lunches and drinks for those who register. All you need to bring is an inquiring mind.

To register to attend and receive a lunch, please go to our event listing.

Special thanks to Victoria “Tori” Ekstrand and Daren C. Brabham, assistant professors in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication for the topic description and reading list.

 

 

0

New rules for the media? A look at government policy in 2010

The role of federal policy in shaping journalism will be the topic of a free, public lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 15.  Josh Silver, president and CEO of Free Press, will speak at 7 p.m. in 111 Carroll Hall on the UNC-CH campus.

Silver will discuss some of the major regulatory issues facing the U.S. media today.  Those issues include how to expand broadband Internet service to all American homes, whether to continue to allow Internet service providers to censor their customers’ communications and how best to fund professional news reporting.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, the group supports diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, quality journalism and universal access to communications.  The group has offices in Washington, D.C., and Florence, Mass.  To learn more about Silver and Free Press, visit freepress.net.

View the lecture on YouTube:

0