Archive | Journalism

Students sweep media law research prizes

By on May 24, 2012 in Journalism

UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate students have won the first, second and third-place top-student-paper awards for media law research they will present at the annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in August.

Also winning prizes in the AEJMC Law and Policy Division are two recent graduates of the J-School’s Ph.D. program.

First-place student paper and winner of the Whitney and Shirley Mundt Top Student Paper Award: Master’s student Jeanne-Marie DeStefano for her paper “An Analysis of FTC Cases Involving Substantiation of Health Claims in Food Advertising”

Second-place student paper: Doctoral student Lisa Barnard for her paper titled “Tracking, Technology and Tweens: Better Regulation to Protect Children’s Privacy Online”

Third-place student paper: Master’s student John Remensperger for his paper titled “Who are the Media? The Media Exemption to Campaign Finance Laws”

Recent graduate Dr. Dean Smith won second-place faculty paper for his paper titled “The Real Story Behind the Nation’s First Shield Law: Maryland 1894-1897.” Smith will join the faculty at N.C. State University in the fall.

Recent graduate Dr. Woody Hartzog had a paper accepted titled “The Life, Death, and Revival of Implied Confidentiality.” Hartzog is on the faculty at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Alabama.

For acceptance, all papers were double blind-reviewed by judges with no distinction made between student and faculty papers. This means students competed with all submitted papers for acceptance including faculty-authored papers. Once accepted, student-authored papers were identified and selected for top-student-paper awards.

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J-School Faculty and Students to Present Legal Research

By on February 27, 2012 in Journalism

UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication students, faculty and alumni have had papers accepted for presentation in the Law and Policy Division at the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium being hosted by Virginia Tech University March 8-10. The papers were selected through a process of blind review.

Of the 20 papers accepted for presentation in the Law and Policy Division at the Colloquium, 11 have UNC-affiliated authors including the second-place student paper and the first and second place faculty papers. They are:

Student-authored papers:

“Student Online Speech Rights: The Dissolution of the ‘Schoolhouse Gate’ and How Courts Have Ruled in Online Student Speech Cases” by Cindy J. Austin (master’s student)

“An Analysis of FTC Cases Involving Substantiation of Health Claims in Food Advertising: Is the Standard Tightening to the Level of FDA Labeling Standards?” by Jeanne-Marie DeStephano (master’s student)

“A Moving Target: The Attorney-Client Privilege” by Tom Eppes (doctoral student)

“Prescription Drug Marketing to Physicians and the First Amendment” by Laura Marshall (master’s student)

“Food Industry Response to Proposed Guidelines for Self-Regulation of Food Marketing Aimed at Children” by Patrick Mustain (master’s student)

“Putting Media Contact Policies to the Facial Test: When Media Contact Policies are Constitutionally Permissible” by April Raphiou (doctoral student)

“Who are the Media? The Media Exemption to Campaign Finance Regulation” by John Remensperger (master’s student) (*second place student paper)

“Internet Advertising and Interactive Computer Services: Liability and Immunity as Provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act” by Christopher J. Vargo (doctoral student)

Faculty-authored papers:

“A Dangerous Distinction: The Deconstitutionalization of Private Speech” by Derigan Silver (alum) and Ruth Walden (faculty) (*second place faculty paper)

“The Real Story Behind the Nation’s First Shield Law: Maryland 1894-1897” by Dean Smith (faculty)

Alum-authored papers:

“The Case for Online Obscurity” by Woodrow Hartzog (alum) (*first place faculty paper)

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Students to Present Media Law Research

By on June 28, 2011 in Journalism

Five UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate students have had media law research papers accepted for presentation at the August 2011 convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.  One of the students, Roxane Coche, won third place in the student paper competition.  The judging was done through a process of blind review.  The convention will be in St. Louis, Mo.

These are the students and the titles of their papers:

Ph.D. student Kelly Davis:  “Unknown Knowns:  Judicial Review and Mosaic Theory in the Years of the George W. Bush Administration.”

Ph.D. student Roxane Coche:   “’Blurring’ and ‘Tarnishment’:  How Federal Courts Have Applied the 2006 Trademark Dilution Revision Act Standards.”  ** Third-place student paper.

Ph.D. student Scott Parrott: “Might This ‘Legal Attack Dog’ Have Much Bite?  Righthaven, Fair Use and the Unauthorized Reproduction of News Content Online.”

Ph.D. graduate and adjunct professor Dean Smith: “Journalist Privilege in 1929:  The Quest for a Federal Shield Law Begins.”

Master’s student Gillian Wheat:  “Retransmission Consent:  An Exploration of its Past, Present and Future.”

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Ph.D. Grad to Publish Shield Law Research

By on June 28, 2011 in Journalism

Dean Smith, who received his Ph.D. in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication in May 2011, has had an article accepted for publication in the “Journal of Media Law and Ethics” this summer. The article is “Journalist Privilege in 1929: The Quest for a Federal Shield Law Begins.”

In his article, Smith uses a critical legal history approach to explore the first attempts to persuade Congress to adopt a federal shield law and explains the lasting impact of those events. This is the first scholarly treatment of the events, and the article incorporates original historical research. The theoretical lens through which the events are viewed is borrowed from Michael Gerhardt, a well-known constitutional-law scholar on the faculty of the UNC School of Law.  The article is based on Smith’s dissertation research.

Smith is an adjunct professor in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.  He teaches media law and newswriting.

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Center joins Carnegie Media Law Project

By on April 2, 2011 in Journalism

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy has joined the Carnegie Media Law Project on Journalism Schools as News Providers.

Funded with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation, the project aims to identify and address the legal needs and concerns of journalism schools whose students are publishing online.  The project is directed by Geanne Rosenberg, professor in the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions at the Baruch College of the City University of New York.

Participating schools and organizations, in addition to the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, include Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, The Poynter Institute, Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center’s Citizen Media Law Project, Howard University, Arizona State University, Boston University, CUNY, American University, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota and USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.

In February Professor Rosenberg met in Chapel Hill with members of the faculty of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication to hear their thoughts about how to best protect the valuable journalism UNC students are contributing to the public.

On April 8, 2011, representatives of all the participating schools and organizations will meet at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., to continue work on the project.  The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will be represented at the meeting by Center Director Cathy Packer.

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