Author Archive | Noelle Wilson

Exciting Summer 2023 Job Opportunities for Students on the Media Law Jobs Board!

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy offers many resources to law students, including the Media Law Jobs Board. The jobs board is updated regularly with full-time jobs, fellowships, post-docs, and seasonal internships in media law and a variety of related fields such as journalism, privacy, intellectual property, technology, and business affairs. 

There are a number of great summer media law opportunities for law students interested in litigation, digital civil rights, First Amendment issues, and other exciting areas of media law! If you’ve already nailed down your summer plans, this list may help you decide where to apply next summer or after graduation.

Students who accept unpaid or low-paying summer internships in the fields of media law or media policy may be eligible for a summer grant from the Center—check back soon for information about how to apply for summer funding.

Below are some of the highlights of the summer jobs listed on the jobs board. Please remember that you will need to contact these employers directly; we simply post the jobs and are not responsible for hiring

  • First Amendment Internship at the Center for Investigative Reporting: The Center for Investigative Reporting is currently accepting applications for a First Amendment Intern in CIR’s legal department. The intern will work closely with in house and outside counsel to assist with: researching discrete issues for freedom-of-information and court-access cases; drafting, reviewing, and editing appeal letters for public records requests; providing feedback on amicus briefs; researching intellectual property issues and assisting with relevant client letters; and researching for a law review article involving First Amendment issues and the right of access.  
  • Cyberlaw Clinic Intern at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society: Harvard Law School‘s Cyberlaw Clinic, based at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, provides high-quality, pro-bono legal services. Summer legal interns work on all aspects of the Cyberlaw Clinic’s caseload and, like Fall and Spring semester students, take the lead on the projects they join, supported by the Clinic staff. Although Clinic projects vary from summer to summer, they often include substantive law related to the First Amendment, computer security, digital privacy, intellectual property, civic innovation, emerging technologies such as AI, human rights, reproductive justice and media and the arts.
  • Summer Legal Intern–Media and Free Speech at Dow Jones: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is soliciting applications for its Media Law and First Amendment Internship. The position is hybrid and the intern will join Dow Jones’s legal department in its New York City offices for a few days each week, for ten weeks in the summer of 2023. Working primarily with Dow Jones’s litigation and press attorneys, the intern will focus on matters affecting publication, access to information, newsgathering, and domestic and international free-speech laws.
  • Media Freedom and Information Access Fellow at Yale Law School: The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic is a law student clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression. It provides pro bono legal services to journalists and news organizations, pursues impact litigation, and develops policy initiatives in support of the Clinic’s mission. The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic invites applications for summer fellow positions. The summer fellows will assist in all aspects of the Clinic’s ongoing litigation and other activities.

And, of course, current law students should also reach out to their school’s career offices. UNC students can contact the Career Development Office through My Carolina Law.

Don’t forget to check the board regularly for new summer and post-grad opportunities!

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A UNC Student’s Summer Experience at the Federal Communications Commission

Each summer, the Center for Media Law and Policy provides financial support through its summer grants program to UNC law and graduate students taking unpaid or low-paying jobs in the fields of media law or media policy. The comments below are from Noelle Wilson, a second-year dual degree student at UNC pursuing a JD and an MA in Media & Communication and recipient of one of the Center’s Summer Public Interest Grants, who interned at the Federal Communications Commission:

Last summer I interned for the Competition Policy Division of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. The FCC regulates communications by telephone, radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Specifically, the Competition Policy Division (CPD) is within the Wireline Competition Bureau, and is responsible for  implementation of non-pricing aspects of the local competition requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, including interconnection, network element unbundling and privacy. The division also administers U.S. numbering policy (including local number portability), and reviews applications from wireline carriers for mergers and other transfers of control, and discontinuance of service.

The CPD works on a lot of hot topics in communications law, including rulemakings to help implement 988 as the three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Hotline (which will be fully implemented July of this year!) and rulemakings to help stop robocalls. During my summer with CPD, I worked on a memo for FCC partners at SAMSHA regarding potential future 988 rulemaking proceedings, through which I learned the ins and outs of administrative law and FCC procedure. I also worked with interns from the Enforcement division to review robocall mitigation plans that telecommunications providers submitted to the FCC to comply with robocall mitigation rulemakings. On another project, I gained insight into how the FCC works with state utility commissions by analyzing state regulations for iVoiP providers—this was also a valuable opportunity to dive into state regulatory law!

Beyond the exciting legal work, I also had lots of opportunities to meet FCC attorneys despite being a remote intern. The CPD attorneys were welcoming and eager to talk about their careers and experiences at the Commission over virtual coffees, and the division included the interns in team meetings and virtual social gatherings. Overall, my summer at the FCC was a great experience to learn about how the Commission functions and it reinforced my desire to work in communications law. 

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Exciting Summer Job Opportunities for Students on the Media Law Jobs Board

One of the many resources the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy offers to law students is our Media Law Jobs Board. The jobs board is updated regularly with full-time jobs, fellowships, post-docs, and seasonal internships in a variety of media law and related fields such as journalism, intellectual property, technology, and business affairs.

For law students who are currently seeking a summer job/internship, there are a number of great media law opportunities available for students interested in litigation, digital civil rights, First Amendment issues, and many more exciting areas of media law! If you’ve already nailed down your summer plans, this list may give you ideas for where to apply next summer or after graduation.

Students who accept unpaid or low-paying summer internships in the fields of media law or media policy may be eligible for a summer grant from the Center—check back soon for information about how to apply for summer funding.

Here are some of the highlights of the summer jobs listed on the jobs board (please remember that you will need to contact these employers directly, we simply post the jobs and are not responsible for hiring): 

  • Summer Legal Internship at University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic
    • The First Amendment Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law seeks a full-time legal intern to start on or after May 16, 2022 for a 10-week, paid summer position. The Clinic defends and advances the rights of free speech, press, assembly, and petition via direct client representation and advocacy, particularly on behalf of individuals and organizations who cannot afford or do not otherwise have access to counsel with First Amendment expertise. The Clinic also serves as a resource for journalists, students, government employees and members of the public on issues of open access and free expression in order to promote a better-informed citizenry.
  • Summer Legal Internship at the Knight First Amendment Institute 
    • The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is looking for legal interns for the summer of 2022 to do ground-breaking First Amendment litigation and help us in the early stages of building an exciting new free-speech advocacy and research organization. The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education. We aim to promote a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government.
  • Legal/Public Policy Internship at New America’s Open Technology Institute
    • New America’s Open Technology Institute seeks enthusiastic and motivated current or recent law, graduate, or undergraduate students, with academic or work experience in technology or public policy, for multiple full-time internships during the summer of 2022. We’re looking for people who are passionate about tech policy and eager to learn about complex issues in a rapidly-changing environment. OTI works at the intersection of technology and policy to ensure that every community has equitable access to digital technology and its benefits. 
  • Legal Internship at the First Amendment Foundation
    • The First Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing Florida’s constitutional right to access government records and meetings, has a remote paid legal internship available for rising 2L and 3L law students. Monthly stipend available. The intern will work closely with the FAF executive director and staff attorney on open government and speech issues. The intern will help develop training on public records and open meetings laws. The intern will have the opportunity to respond to inquiries to the Freedom of Information Helpline from journalists and individuals, assist in litigation in which FAF is involved, and research legislation affecting open government and the First Amendment. The ideal candidate has an interest in public policy, government accountability, freedom of speech and of the press.
  • First Amendment Internship at the Center for Investigative Reporting
    • The CIR is accepting applications for a First Amendment intern in its legal department. Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting engages and empowers the public through investigative journalism and groundbreaking storytelling that sparks action, improves lives and protects our democracy. The intern will work closely with in house and outside counsel.
  • Summer First Amendment Fellowship at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
    • FIRE has revitalized its highly competitive summer law student program to establish the Arthur D. Hellman Fellowship in First Amendment Litigation to train a new generation of First Amendment litigators. The Hellman Fellowship is a paid opportunity offering a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week program that runs from June through August. As a Hellman Fellow, law students will have the opportunity to work with FIRE’s civil rights attorneys, advancing FIRE’s mission to defend freedom of speech, expression, and thought at U.S. colleges and universities. 
  • Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic Summer Fellowship at Yale Law School
    • The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School invites applications for summer fellow positions. The summer fellows will assist in all aspects of the Clinic’s ongoing litigation and other activities. The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic is a law student clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression. It provides pro bono legal services to journalists and news organizations, pursues impact litigation, and develops policy initiatives in support of the Clinic’s mission. 
  • Summer First Amendment Clinic Fellowship at Cornell Law School
    • The First Amendment Clinic at Cornell Law School invites applications for its 2022 Summer Fellowships. The First Amendment Clinic provides law students interested in the fields of freedom of the press, freedom of information, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and where applicable, freedom of religion, with the opportunity to enrich their understanding of these vital rights by working on cutting-edge litigation, advocacy, and policy work. A key component of the Clinic’s efforts will be to support journalists and media outlets in their critical work.
  • Summer Internship at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society Cyberlaw Clinic
    • The Cyberlaw Clinic is hiring summer interns for 2022! Current U.S. JD candidates with an interest in the intersection of tech, law, and social justice are invited to join our dynamic team! Summer legal interns work on all aspects of the Cyberlaw Clinic’s caseload and, like Fall and Spring semester students, take the lead on the projects they join, supported by the Clinic staff. Although Clinic projects vary from summer to summer, they often include substantive law related to the First Amendment, computer security, digital privacy, intellectual property, civic innovation, emerging technologies such as AI, human rights, and media and the arts. Interns will be involved in supporting the Clinic’s ongoing docket and in planning decisions about clients, cases, and topic areas to be addressed in the Clinic’s work during the upcoming academic year. Interns are supervised and mentored by the Cyberlaw Clinic instructors, and are provided with feedback and growth opportunities. 

And, of course, current law students should also reach out to their school’s career offices. UNC students can contact the Career Development Office through My Carolina Law.

Check the board regularly for summer and post-grad opportunities!

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Alaska, Colorado, and Virginia Enact Sponsorship Disclosure Requirements for Online Political Advertisements

In partnership with the UNC Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP), the Center for Media Law and Policy has been researching and summarizing state laws that impose disclosure and/or recordkeeping requirements on online platforms that carry digital political advertisements. 

Digital political ads have become an increasingly important tool for political candidates and committees, yet existing federal laws governing political advertisements focus primarily on traditional mediums of communication. While the Federal Election Commission has detailed sponsorship disclosure requirements for political advertising on television and radio, the agency currently does not regulate online political advertising in the same way. Congress proposed legislation in 2017, 2019, and 2021 to extend existing disclosure requirements for political advertisements to online political advertisements, but no action has been taken on these bills. 

To fill this regulatory gap, a handful of states have enacted new legislation or amended their existing election laws to increase transparency by imposing sponsorship disclosure and/or recordkeeping requirements for online political advertisements. As of 2020, six states had enacted such laws, which we analyzed in a report written by Ashley Fox and Dr. Tori Ekstrand, “Regulating the Political Wild West: State Efforts to Disclose Sources of Online Political Advertising,” and summarized on the CITAP Digital Politics website under the section on State Disclosure and Recordkeeping Requirements for Digital Political Ads

Since 2020, three additional states, Alaska, Colorado, and Virginia, have enacted their own laws requiring sponsorship disclosure for online political ads. We’ve updated the CITAP Digital Politics pages to include summaries of the new laws, which you can read here.

The Highlights: 

Virginia’s regulations are the most comprehensive, with disclosure requirements varying based on the type of ad and who paid for it. Rather than creating new disclosure requirements specifically for online political ads, Virginia’s law instead subjects different types of online ads to its existing requirements for print, broadcast, and radio ads. For the purposes of disclosure requirements, online graphic advertisements with no video or audio components are treated like print ads; online video advertisements are treated like broadcast ads; and online audio-only advertisements are treated like radio ads. 

The Virginia law, however, does not impose liability on online platforms for any political ads that fail to include the required disclosures. The law also requires individuals and organizations that purchase or promote an online political ad to tell the platform they are political advertisers and certify that they are permitted under state and local laws to purchase or promote online political ads. 

In contrast, Colorado and Alaska’s laws create new disclosure requirements for online political ads. While Alaska’s law has different requirements based on whether an online political ad has print, video, or audio components, Colorado’s law has one set of disclosure requirements for all online political ads, regardless of the content type. 

You can read more about the specifics of each state’s recordkeeping and disclosure requirements on the CITAP Digital Politics site here

Noelle Wilson, CITAP Media Law Fellow

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