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

By on May 8, 2022 in Center for Media Law and Policy

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. 

0

A UNC Student’s Summer Experience at the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts

By on May 4, 2022 in Center for Media Law and Policy

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 Kathryn Johnson, a dual degree JD/MA student at the UNC School of Law and UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, who interned at the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts in summer 2021 and received one of the Center’s grants:

In the summer of 2021, I had the opportunity to work for the General Counsel’s office at the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (“NCAOC”). NCAOC provides administrative services to help the state’s court system operate more efficiently and effectively. This includes ensuring that the state courts are open and accessible to anyone who initiates litigation or is otherwise drawn into litigation as well as ensuring the public has access to court documents.

While there, I focused much of my research on legal issues surrounding the press and public’s First Amendment right to access newly-filed civil complaints in a timely manner. During my time at NCAOC, North Carolina was in the process of rolling out its new e-filing system, and around the country, Courthouse News Service (CNS), a nationwide news service, had initiated lawsuits in multiple federal courts challenging county clerks’ filing procedures, challenging either the method by which newly-filed civil complaints were made available, or the processing delay that inhibited reporters’ ability to access the complaints in a timely fashion. In these challenges, CNS advocated for immediate access to newly-filed complaints filed using e-filing systems through the use of a “press queue” that would allow journalists to view new filings right away. After reading the various federal trial court decisions, a handful of Court of Appeals opinions, and conducting general legal research regarding the paramaters of journalists’ access to court proceedings, I provided a recommendation for how NCAOC could consider structuring the new e-filing system with these considerations in mind.

The Center’s grant allowed me to spend the summer in Raleigh at NCAOC, researching and analyzing important issues, such as journalists’ ability to access newly-filed complaints in a timely fashion.

 

0

New UNC Center on Technology Policy

By on April 28, 2022 in Internet

I’m thrilled that UNC is launching a new center focused on technology policy!  The UNC Center on Technology Policy (CTP) will hold its first public event on Friday, April 29, but they have already been working hard — and having an impact — on the conversation about how to regulate online content, with a fantastic policy brief on “Understanding, Enforcement, and Investment: Options and Opportunities for State Regulation of Online Content.”

CTP’s mission is to help craft public policy for a better internet. Utilizing an interdisciplinary academic framework, CTP works to identify knowledge gaps and develop actionable policy frameworks that will enable us to realize the potential benefits of technology while minimizing its harms. By working closely with students and expanding the University’s offerings in technology policy analysis, we seek to cultivate and train the field’s future practitioners.  For more on CTP’s plans, you can read a recent overview of the center in The Well.

The new center is lead by Matt Perault, a professor of the practice at UNC’s School of Information & Library Science (SILS) and a consultant on technology policy issues.  He previously led the Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University and was a professor of the practice at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.  Before that, Matt worked at Facebook, where he was a director on the public policy team and the head of the global policy development team.  He covered issues ranging from antitrust to law enforcement to human rights and oversaw the company’s policy work on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Matt holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University.

To mark their public launch, CTP will be hosting an event on Zoom at noon on Friday, April 29, about state efforts to regulate platform content.  They have a fantastic lineup of panelists, including Emma Llansó (Center for Democracy & Technology), Wendy Gooditis (VA House of Delegates), Mary-Rose Papandrea (UNC School of Law), and Steve DelBianco (NetChoice).  You can register for the event, which is free and open to the public, here.

The new center, which is based at the SILS, will work closely with UNC’s Center on Information, Technology, and Public Life and the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy.  Welcome to the neighborhood, CTP!

0

A UNC Student’s Summer Experience at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

By on April 26, 2022 in Center for Media Law and Policy, First Amendment

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 Isabela Palmieri, a dual degree JD/MA student at the UNC School of Law and UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, who interned at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) in summer 2019 and received one of the Center’s grants:

In the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to work for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE’s mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of students and faculty members at America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience—the essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates students, faculty, alumni, trustees, and the public about the threats to these rights on our campuses, and provides the means to preserve them.  It was founded in 1999 by University of Pennsylvania professor Alan Charles Kors and Boston civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate.

While there, I researched and drafted memoranda on legal issues regarding free speech and due process in higher education. I also aided the Individual Rights Defense Program (IRDP) team in writing and editing legal correspondence to individual students, professors, and campus groups whose fundamental civil liberties had been violated. As one of my biggest projects, I drafted a model policy for universities that provided a constitutional and viewpoint-neutral process for the allocation of student fees.

The Center’s grant allowed me to spend the summer in Philadelphia and have an enriching experience at FIRE protecting students’ free speech rights.

0

2022 Summer Grants for UNC Law and Graduate Students Working in Media Law and Policy

By on April 13, 2022 in Center for Media Law and Policy

summer-job-pictureAre you a Carolina student interested in pursuing a career in media law or policy?  Are you worried that you won’t be able to take that summer job in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, or Washington, because it’s just too expensive to live there?  Or perhaps you’ll be working remotely from Chapel Hill (or elsewhere) and the job doesn’t pay very much?

Well, the Center for Media Law and Policy is here to help.  The Center’s summer grants program provides funds to UNC law and graduate students taking unpaid or low-paying jobs in the fields of media law or media policy. In past years, UNC students have received a summer grant to support their work at a wide range of organizations, including the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, National Public Radio, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Future of Privacy Forum, Student Press Law Center, Broadway Video Group, Screen Media Ventures, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, and Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

Wait, you don’t have a summer job yet?!  Head over to our media law and policy Jobs Center, where you will find dozens of summer (and post-graduate) employment opportunities. You can easily find the perfect job for you by using our advanced search feature to search by location, keyword, or practice area.  Also, try browsing by job type or category for a more expansive look at the jobs listed. Still not sure what you want to do for the summer?  You can read about the summer experiences of your fellow students on the Center’s blog.

Requirements and Information on How to Apply for a Summer Grant

You must be a UNC law student or graduate student to apply. You will need to download the application form and send it directly to us at medialaw [at] unc.edu along with the other supporting material described below. Please put “Summer Grant Application” in the subject. The deadline for applying for a summer grant is April 30, 2022.

Law students who applied through the law school’s Summer Public Interest Grant Program are also eligible for a Center grant. You do not need to apply to the Center separately. Simply check the box on the general application for “Media Law or Policy” under the heading “Substantive Areas Your Summer Employment Will Involve” and you will be automatically considered for Center funds in addition to the law school grant.

Applications will be evaluated based on (a) your demonstrated commitment to working in the areas of media law or policy (this covers a wide range of subjects, including intellectual property law, privacy law, entertainment law, communications law, and First Amendment law), and (b) the quality of your essays (each essay should not be more than 500 words).

Required documents include:

  1. Resume (without grade information)
  2. Offer letter from your employer
  3. Essays (no more than 500 words each) *

* Essay questions:

  • Essay #1: Describe your work responsibilities and how they relate to media law or media policy.
  • Essay #2: Describe your commitment to public service. How have your past interests and work experiences contributed to your proposed summer internship responsibilities?
  • Essay #3: How do you see this summer work experience contributing to your long-term career goals?

Be sure to check out these Tips for Writing a Strong Grant Application. You will be notified of a decision by the end of May.

0