Media Law Student to Intern with Comcast

By on April 27, 2015 in Journalism

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Media law student Nick Gross will be a public policy intern for Comcast Corp. in Washington, D.C., this summer. Congratulations, Nick!

Nick is a first-year Ph.D. student in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a graduate assistant assigned to the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. 

Nick has a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.  He has worked as a legal research attorney for the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, and as a staff attorney with the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Ga.

This is the description of the Comcast position: “The Public Policy Intern will research and write on a variety of issues including cable, Internet, voice, wireless, and related topics.  The Public Policy Intern will focus on legislative and other Federal processes. All interns can expect to prepare briefing memos, talking points, comment summaries, and other written material, and may have opportunities to attend conferences and other events outside of the office.  Interns will work with management to determine the impact of federal actions on the organization, develop presentations and other written materials on findings, and act as an internal consultant to the government affairs teams.”

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Center Staffer Makes Splash with Article in The Atlantic

By on April 25, 2015 in Center for Media Law and Policy, Internet

Tori Ekstrand, the director of communications for the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, wrote an article about web accessibility that was published in The Atlantic last week.

The article then quickly was picked up by PBS Media Shift’s Daily Best Reads blog (“The best stories across the web on media and technology”) and NPR’s All Things Considered.

Tori’s “Should Netflix be Accessible to the Deaf?” argues that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) should apply to the Internet, including to sites like Netflix. Tori is an assistant professor in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her article was the result of her ongoing research about how the ADA does and should apply to the Internet. Great work, Tori!

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Judge Thokozile Masipa visits UNC

By on April 13, 2015 in Journalism

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On Tuesday, April 7, I had an opportunity to speak with the Honorable Thokozile Matilda Masipa, a judge in the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa.  Many know her as the judge who presided over the high profile Oscar Pistorius murder trial, but it’s the story of how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to become the second black woman admitted to the bench in South Africa that inspires me. 

Judge Masipa grew up in the poor, black township of Soweto under the South African apartheid regime. Opportunities for minorities were almost nonexistent.  Determined to help others, Judge Masipa pursued a degree in social work and then later spoke out against injustices as a journalist.  She once was arrested and jailed overnight for protesting the government’s attempts to suppress the media. 

Participating in the anti-apartheid movement sparked Judge Masipa’s interest in the law.   The full-time journalist, wife and mother spent 10 years completing her law degree. 

She quickly earned the respect of her colleagues and took on more and more challenging cases as a lawyer. In 1998, five judges nominated her, and she was appointed to the bench. It was not her plan to become an activist or a judge.  She explained, “[B]ecoming an advocate is not a choice, it is imposed on you.  It’s the environment that you grow up in. You know that if you do not do something, you will perish.”

Judge Thokozile Masipa is a former student of Kenneth Broun, professor emeritus at UNC School of Law.  She delivered the 2015 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture on Monday, April 6.  Many thanks to Professor Broun and UNC for bringing such a distinguished guest to our campus!

Chanda Marlowe is a 2L at the University of North Carolina School of Law

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UNC Student Wins McCormick Foundation Legal Fellowship

By on April 10, 2015 in Journalism

Kevin DelaneyUNC media law student Kevin Delaney has been awarded the McCormick Foundation Legal Fellowship for next year by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C. He will draft appellate amicus briefs in significant cases involving First Amendment/media law issues, primary cases concerning access to court records and proceedings.

The fellowship is funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Next month Kevin will graduate from UNC’s dual-degree program in law and journalism, earning both a J.D. and a master’s degree.

Congratulations, Kevin!

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FAA Releases Proposed Drone Regulations; North Carolina Proposes Exemption for Government Agencies

By on April 5, 2015 in First Amendment, Journalism, Privacy

drone-regulationsOn Feb. 15, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released proposed regulations for the use of drones. The proposal requires UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System(s)) pilots to be at least 17 years old, to take an initial aeronautical knowledge test followed by a new test every 24 months, and to pass a TSA screening. The FAA also aims to regulate the speed, timing, and height of drone flights. UAS must avoid spectators, fly no faster than 100 miles per hour and no higher than 500 feet, and fly only during the day. Perhaps most importantly, the drones must remain within sight of the pilots at all times. These rules are for UAS of less than 50 pounds. The proposal discusses the possibility of a more flexible law for UAS of less than 4.4 pounds. The FAA is supposed to finalize the rules by September 2015, but it seems unlikely that the agency will meet the deadline. The FAA proposal is open for comments for 60 days before it moves forward.

Until formal regulations are in place, most commercial entities—including news organizations—may not operate drones. However, private and government entities are anxious to begin using drones and do not want to wait for the FAA to finalize the regulations. The FAA has allowed some news organizations to test drones for newsgathering. The FAA granted CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NBCUniversal permission to “conduct controlled safety testing of a series of real-life scenarios where the news media could use small U.A.S. technology to gather the news.” CNN has further permission to test camera-equipped drones.

Meanwhile, state and local jurisdictions have considered and enacted laws that regulate drone use by individuals, commercial entities, and law enforcement. As mentioned in the December blog post, North Carolina’s 2014 budget included new UAS regulations. Some of these regulations outlined licensing guidelines for the commercial operation of UAS within North Carolina. To obtain a license, an applicant must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and pass a yet-to-be-created “knowledge and skills test.” The law charged the Division of Aviation of the N.C. Department of Transportation with developing and administering this test. Lawmakers also instructed the Division of Aviation to develop a commercial UAS program that included the following: a UAS classification system, a fee structure, technological guidelines, limitations for commercial operation, limitations on data collection, and a variety of other criteria.

The regulations in the 2014 budget also stipulated that no government agency could fly a UAS without taking the test outlined above. However, on Jan. 28, 2015, a bill was filed with the General Assembly that would grant a licensing exception to government agencies. House Bill 4 would allow governmental agencies to begin using UAS before the Division of Aviation releases the UAS “knowledge and skills” test. Under the proposed law, government agencies could obtain and operate UAS if the state chief information officer approved the request. The Division of Aviation must have a test ready for government UAS pilots by May 31, 2015.

Any regulation that the state develops is subject to change when the FAA releases its formal guidelines. Until the FAA publishes the guidelines, it is impossible to know if or how much North Carolina’s UAS laws will change. Currently, if House Bill 4 does pass, governmental agencies still would need permission from the FAA to fly UAS. Before government UAS can take flight in North Carolina, the FAA must grant the agency a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The COA is a permit that allows government agencies to operate aircraft for a limited amount of time in a particular area for a specific purpose.

For now, North Carolina law and the proposed bill seem in line with public opinion. A recent Reuters’ poll showed that while 42 percent of those surveyed opposed private ownership of UAS, 68 percent approved of law enforcement using UAS to solve crimes, and 62 percent supported using UAS to prevent crime.

Kristen Patrow
Ph.D. Student
UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication

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