Archive | Transparency

Transparency in the Time of COVID-19

Amanda Martin, general counsel to the N.C. Press Association and a lawyer at Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych, PLLC, has graciously allowed me to post this information that she recently shared with her clients through her newsletter, FIRST FOR A REASON: Info & Ideas About the First Amendment & Media Law.  If you would like to sign up for her newsletter just email First@smvt.com with “subscribe” in the subject line. You can also follow her on Twitter @ncmedialaw.


TRANSPARENCY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

I want to begin with my gratitude for the vital and hard work that you all have been doing to report on the coronavirus crisis. Personally, I check five or six news websites about every hour to see what has developed, what has changed. I know I am not alone. On behalf of all your readers and viewers, thank you!

It has become apparent that in the coming weeks and months, government operations are going to be disrupted beyond recognition, making your job harder at the very time that it is more important. You’ll find here a few reminders I hope will be useful, as well as links to some government resources that might be helpful.

First, UNC’s School of Government Professor Frayda Bluestein reminds, there is nothing about the Governor’s state of emergency declaration that relieves public officials and public agencies of their obligations under North Carolina open government laws. Neither the Governor nor local officials can wipe away those requirements.

Second, a quick refresher on the Open Meetings Law. Remember, the OML applies to quorums of public agencies. At its core, the OML requires three things: notice, access and minutes.

NOTICE

  • Notice for non-emergency, special meetings must be given at least 48 hours in advance of a meeting. To get individual notice, though, you must be on the notice list. If you haven’t done so already, ask to be on that list for any public body you cover (including committees and subcommittees). Public bodies can require you to renew your request annually, so just be sure.
  • It’s fairly easy to imagine there will be lots of emergency meetings in the future. The law for emergency meetings doesn’t have any specific time requirement. They can be called with short notice, and again, notice must be provided to anyone on the notice list.

ACCESS

  • Access means reasonable access. Imagine the Buncombe County Board of Education decides they will discuss at their next meeting canceling school for the balance of the year. And imagine everyone in Buncombe County wants to attend. They won’t all fit in the meeting room, and our Court of Appeals has ruled that the board doesn’t have to find a big enough room (or coliseum). Rather, agencies must provide access for a reasonable number of people. What is reasonable may be seen through the lens of health department guidance on how many people can gather together, but surely allowing some of the public must be required.
  • The OML provides for at least some public bodies to meet electronically. Professor Frayda Bluestein has written that there is no express statutory authorization for local governmental bodies to meet by phone or other electronic communications and that it’s questionable whether they can. But if they do, the law is clear that the public must be given a means to listen in. Bodies must provide “a location and means whereby members of the public may listen to the meeting and the notice of the meeting required by this Article shall specify that location.” G.S. § 143-318.13(a). The law allows charging a fee of $25.00 per listener, though Professor Bluestein has recommended that agencies waive that fee.

MINUTES

  • The OML requires that minutes be kept for all meetings. And for closed meetings, there must be a record “so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what transpired.” G.S. § 143-318.10(e).
  • There is no provision in the law requiring a recording of meetings – audio or video – but urging such recordings might be one way to mitigate the lack of transparency that might lessened access that results from this emergency.

Remember to use the Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law in concert with one another. If you are not able to be present at a meeting – either because it was closed to the public or because you’re covering developing news over at the hospital – remember that likely there are associated public records that might be instructive. In addition to asking for agendas and meeting packets, ask for memos, emails or other documents exchanged in advance of (or after) the meeting. Ask for notes taken by public officials at the meeting, too.

UNC’s School of Government has several resources detailed analyses, including these:

Stay tuned for updates on the issue of court access in light of Chief Justice Beasley’s order closing most courts. To see Chief Justice Beasley’s COVIC press conference and for official updates on the courts, including memos and court orders, go to

https://www.nccourts.gov/covid-19-coronavirus-updates

Finally, as one reporter said just last week when we were discussing COVID-19, these laws set minimums for transparency. Our job always is to push for as much access and as much information as possible. That’s how we can best serve the public who are relying on us to collect, digest and report information in these incomprehensible times.

Email us with feedback, questions, or topics that interest you: First@smvt.com

If you know someone else who might be interested in information like this, please forward this email so they can sign up by emailing First@smvt.com with “subscribe” in the subject line.

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Workshop on Police Body-Worn Cameras a Success

Frayda Bluestein from the UNC School of Government leads a discussion during the second plenary session.

Many law enforcement agencies across the country have implemented or are considering body-worn camera (“BWC”) programs as a means to improve policing and promote transparency. Despite the ubiquity of these programs, issues surrounding the use of such cameras continue to arise. While public debate has largely focused on the tension between police accountability and privacy, little work has been done to address the practical needs of law enforcement and the media, particularly the retention, redaction and release of BWC video to the public.

To address this deficiency, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy convened an invitation-only workshop last weekend. The workshop was a supplement to the North Carolina Law Review’s 2017 symposium “Badgecams as Data and Deterrent: Law Enforcement, the Public, and the Press in the Age of Digital Video.” It was organized to address the practical issues associated with the implementation of police body-worn camera systems, with the goals of ascertaining areas of agreement, identifying issues that would benefit from research, and developing best practices for police departments and the media.

We had a great group of experts in attendance, all with varying perspectives on BWCs. The group consisted of experts on law enforcement, news gathering, privacy, and public access, including seven police officers, two North Carolina Representatives, five attorneys, multiple access and reform advocates, and a dozen academics from across the country.

The workshop was structured to promote open and honest discussion among the attendees and was comprised of two plenary sessions with smaller breakout working groups. In the plenary sessions, the participants identified the major issues surrounding BWC usage based on a lifecycle framework developed by UNC School of Law professor Richard Myers. Attendees then narrowed the list of potential topics to four main areas of interest — creation, access, use, and privacy — that were the subject of the breakout sessions.

Adam Marshall from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press facilitates a breakout session on public access to BWC videos.

Not surprisingly, the breakout sessions did not produce many points of consensus. Nevertheless, we thought the workshop was a success. Indeed, it is rare for privacy advocates, policymakers, and law enforcement sit down together and talk about issues surrounding the use of BWC systems. The workshop allowed participants to hear from those working with BWC on the frontlines and to identify gaps in resources, research, and policy. We hope that the connections made and the conversations that started at the workshop will prove to be beneficial for everyone who came.

We are currently drafting a white paper that will describe in greater the detail the issues that were raised at the workshop. The Center is thankful for all of those who participated, and we look forward to continuing the conversation!

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Welcome Our New Research Fellow, Rachael Jones

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy is proud to announce that it has hired its first research fellow, Rachael Jones.  Rachael, who started this week, will oversee the Center’s research initiatives, with a particular focus on government transparency.

Prior to joining the Center, Rachael served as the Jack Nelson/Dow Jones Legal Fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (“RCFP”). At RCFP, Rachael assisted journalists daily, and primarily focused on state and federal public records act matters. She has presented her research on free speech issues at the Yale Information and Society Project’s Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference for the past two years and served as a panelist for freedom of information topics for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Law and Policy Division. Rachael earned her J.D. with honors from the University of Florida in 2016, where she was a research editor for the Florida Journal of International Law. While at UF Law, Rachael served as a research assistant to Dean Lyrissa Lidsky and as an extern-clerk to the Honorable Stephanie Ray of the First District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida. In addition, Rachael has studied comparative constitutional law and dispute resolution at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. Rachael received her Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida in 2011 and hails from the Destin, Florida, area.

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Center to Hire Media Law and Policy Fellow

UNCI’m excited to announce that the Center will be hiring a Media Law and Policy Fellow!  The fellow will play a critical role in supporting a major research initiative at the Center focused on examining various legal and policy issues related to improving government transparency, including the impact government transparency can have on privacy, cybersecurity, equality, and other important interests.

This is a two-year position with a possible renewal for a third year. The salary is $47,476 annually and is accompanied by the standard UNC benefits package and health care insurance for postdoctoral research scholars.

Applicants must hold a J.D. or a Ph.D. We will give preference to applicants with demonstrated interest in the Center’s areas of focus, including journalism, First Amendment, government transparency, and privacy. Applicants should also have experience working with students, organizing events, and managing complex projects. 

The ideal candidate will have:

  • A J.D. and Ph.D.;
  • Knowledge of and interest in the Center’s work;
  • Excellent research, writing, editing, and analytical skills, including empirical legal research experience;
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills;
  • Experience with program planning, administration, and fundraising; and
  • Experience with website, blog, and social media design and content creation.

Applications will be reviewed beginning immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The successful candidate should be prepared to start no later than July 1, 2017, with a potential commencement date as early as January 1, 2017.  

For more information on the position as well as instructions on how to apply, please visit the official position posting on the University of North Carolina’s human resources site, available at: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/108165. You can download a PDF version of the job posting here.

Questions about the position should be directed to medialaw[at]unc.edu.

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Make the Most of Your Winter Break

jobsWhether you are seeking a summer internship or post-graduate employment, the winter break provides a great opportunity for you to further your job search.  If you are interested in media law, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy’s Job Center is the place to start. 

It’s easy to use. You can browse by job type or category, or use 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 what jobs are available.  Just like that, opportunities for internships, fellowships, and academic teaching positions (in Journalism and Law) are at your fingertips.

It offers a wide variety of job opportunities.  There are job opportunities from almost every field even remotely under the media law and policy umbrella, including IP, Copyright, Photo Journalism, Broadcast, FTC listings, Cyberlaw, Trademark.  Here are just 3 of the 14 internship opportunities available in different bureaus and offices within the FCC that were recently posted on our Job Center:

  • Office of Legislative Affairs Internship: The OLA is the FCC’s liaison to Congress. OLA provides lawmakers with information regarding FCC regulatory decisions, answers to policy questions, and assistance with constituent concerns. The Office also prepares FCC witnesses for Congressional hearings, and helps create FCC responses to legislative proposals and Congressional inquiries. Candidates should have a strong academic record, an interest in communications law, and a desire to explore public service. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis Internship: OSP advises the Chairman, Commissioners, Bureaus, and Offices on the agency’s plans and policies. OSP also provides research, advice, and analysis of advanced, novel, and non-traditional communications issues. Applicants should have good written and oral communications skills, some relevant academic training, and a strong interest in communications or media policy. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. (Ideally, applications should be submitted 1-5 months prior to desired start date.)
  • Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Internship:  The Wireless Bureau is responsible for facilitating the rapid and widespread deployment of wireless broadband services, ensuring an effective and interoperable communications environment supporting homeland security and public safety first responders, fostering a forward-looking and cohesive focus concerning spectrum policy and competition, and promoting efficient and transparent access to spectrum including the transition to innovative uses. Most candidates are law students, but WTB may consider other disciplines related to its mission. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. (For maximum consideration, apply for a summer internship position by March 31, 2016.)

(Click here to read about a UNC student’s summer experience at the FCC.) 

Most importantly, we bring our network to you.  The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy has built up a large (and growing) network of media law and policy minded folks over the years, and they are often looking for people just like you. From the multidisciplinary project Privacy Tools For Sharing Research Data at Harvard (for undergraduates, law students, graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scholars) to a tenure-track faculty position in media law at the University of Minnesota our network of contacts are constantly making us aware of openings and opportunities in the field of media law and policy. Our Job Center database brings that network to you.  For free.  Just like that.

Remember our Job Center is available year-round. We encourage you to take advantage of this great resource. Have a happy and productive winter break, from the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy! 

Chanda Marlowe is a 3L at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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