The Center for Media Law and Policy organizes and hosts the Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The colloquium was established in 2009 to honor Wade Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law, and to provide a forum for the discussion of media law and policy issues. It was funded in part by Hearst Communications, the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, and the North Carolina Cable Telecommunications Association to recognize the more than 30 years of service that Mr. Hargrove provided to these organizations as well as media and technology companies throughout North Carolina and the nation.
The colloquium is a world-class event that draws attendees from both industry and academia. Speakers have included David Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc.; Ben Sherwood, former president, Disney|ABC Television; Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel; and David Cohen, Ambassador to Canada and former senior executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Past colloquia have been televised by C-SPAN and UNC-TV.
2024 Hargrove Colloquium: Media Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
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Join us on April 16, 2024, for an exploration of the legal landscape surrounding media and artificial intelligence as we navigate the complexities of this rapidly evolving field. Come hear from David McCraw, deputy general counsel at The New York Times Co. and author of the book Truth in Our Times: Inside the Fight for Press Freedom in the Age of Alternative Facts, as well as Ruth Okediji from Harvard Law School, who served as a member of the National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology and Policy Committee on the Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era.
Our distinguished panel of experts will examine efforts at the federal and state level to prevent potential abuse of AI and will delve into the impact of generative AI on critical areas of media law, offering insights and sparking thought-provoking discussion. Key areas of focus will include:
- Copyright Law: Who owns the creative output generated by AI? What is the impact on copyright holders when their work is used in training AI systems? How will existing copyright frameworks adapt to accommodate generative AI?
- Defamation and Tort Law: Who, if anyone, can be held liable for harmful or defamatory content that AI generates? What are the legal implications for users and platforms employing AI-powered algorithms to curate and publish information?
- Political Communication: How is AI being used in political campaigns and advertising? What are the potential risks and safeguards around AI-powered misinformation and voter manipulation?
- Journalism: How is AI transforming the news industry? What are the legal and ethical considerations surrounding AI-generated news? How can journalists leverage AI while upholding journalistic integrity?
Confirmed panelists:
- Nadine Farid Johnson, Policy Director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
- Lyrissa Lidsky, Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law at the University of Florida
- David McCraw, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at the New York Times
- Ruth Okediji, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center
The conversation will be moderated by David Ardia, Reef C. Ivey II Excellence Fund Term Professor of Law at the UNC School of Law and Co-Director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy.
The Colloquium will take place at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center at the University of North Carolina and is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available in the Rams Head Parking Deck.
Whether you’re a lawyer, journalist, media executive, or simply curious about the intersection of AI and media, we hope that you will join us for this thought-provoking exploration of Media Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Video from the Event
About the Colloquium
The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy hosts the Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium, which was established in 2009 to honor Wade Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law, and to provide a forum for the discussion of media law and policy issues. It was funded in part by Hearst Communications, the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, and the North Carolina Cable Telecommunications Association to recognize the more than 30 years of service that Mr. Hargrove provided to these organizations as well as media and technology companies throughout North Carolina and the nation.
The colloquium is a world-class event that draws attendees from both industry and academia. Speakers have included David Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc.; Ben Sherwood, former president of Disney|ABC Television; Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel; and David Cohen, Ambassador to Canada and former senior executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Past colloquia have been televised by C-SPAN and UNC-TV.
2023 Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium Featuring Floyd Abrams
2023 Wade H. Hargrove Media Law & Policy Colloquium Featuring Floyd Abrams
The Future of the First Amendment
What the battles over freedom of expression in the twentieth-century tell us
about the challenges facing the First Amendment in the twenty-first
On April 10, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will host the 2023 Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium featuring Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Abrams, one of the nation’s leading First Amendment lawyers, will speak about “The Future of the First Amendment.” In addition to giving prepared remarks, he will sit down with Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the UNC School of Law, for an extended conversation about this important topic.
Abrams has extensive experience in high-visibility matters, often involving First Amendment, securities litigation, intellectual property, public policy and regulatory issues. He has argued frequently in the U.S. Supreme Court in cases raising issues as diverse as the scope of the First Amendment, the interpretation of ERISA, the nature of broadcast regulation, the impact of copyright law, and the continuing viability of the Miranda rule. Most recently, he prevailed in his argument before the Supreme Court on behalf of Senator Mitch McConnell as amicus curiae, defending the rights of corporations and unions to speak publicly about politics and elections in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Abrams also represented The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case and other important First Amendment litigation before the Supreme Court. He represented Nina Totenberg and National Public Radio in the 1992 “leak” investigation conducted by the United States Senate arising out of the confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas and, in 2004 and 2005, Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper in their efforts to avoid revealing their confidential sources.
Described by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan as “the most significant First Amendment lawyer of our age,” Abrams has been awarded with Lifetime Achievement Awards by The New York Law Journal and The American Lawyer (2013). For fifteen years, Abrams was the William J. Brennan, Jr. Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He also has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School and Columbia Law School and he is author of Friend of the Court: On the Front Lines with the First Amendment, published by Yale University Press (2013) and Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment, published by Viking Press (2005).
Abrams will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Chancellors’ Ballroom at the Carolina Inn. The event is free and open to the public.
About the Colloquium
The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy hosts the Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium, which was established in 2009 to honor a figure of national prominence in the areas of media law or media policy. It was funded in part by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and North Carolina Cable Telecommunications Association to recognize the more than 30 years of service that Wade Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law, provided to these organizations as well as media and technology companies throughout North Carolina and the nation.
The colloquium is a world-class event that draws attendees from both industry and academia. Speakers have included David Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc.; Ben Sherwood, former president of Disney|ABC Television; and David Cohen, Ambassador to Canada and former senior executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Past colloquia have been televised by C-SPAN and UNC-TV.
Video Recording
A recording of the colloquium is available below.
2020 Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium: Google's Richard Gingras on Technology, Media, & Democracy
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19. WE WILL POST NEW INFORMATION AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE.
On April 1, 2020, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will host the 2020 Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium featuring Richard Gingras, vice president of news at Google. Gingras will speak about “Technology, Media, & Democracy.” In addition to giving prepared remarks, Gingras will sit down with Kate Sheppard, teaching associate professor in the Hussman School of Media and Journalism and senior enterprise editor at HuffPost, for an extended conversation about this important topic.
In his role as vice president at Google, Gingras guides the company’s strategy in how it surfaces news on Google search, Google News, and its smart devices. He also oversees Google’s effort to enable a healthy, open ecosystem for quality journalism, which includes Accelerated Mobile Pages, Subscribe with Google, the Trust Project and various other efforts to provide tools for journalists and news providers. In March 2018, Gingras announced the Google News Initiative, a global effort including $300 million dollars to elevate quality journalism, explore new models for sustainability, and provide technology to stimulate cost-efficiency in newsrooms.
For more than thirty-five years, Gingras has led highly-regarded efforts in the development of online services and new media. He also serves on the boards of the First Amendment Coalition, the International Center for Journalists, the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard, and the Manship School of Communications at LSU. From March 2009 to June 2011, he was CEO of Salon Media Group which operated the acclaimed Salon.com and the pioneering virtual community The Well. Gingras assembled Salon’s initial seed financing in 1995. Salon featured the work of many acclaimed journalists including Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Greenwald.
Gingras was a strategic advisor to the senior team at Google (2007-2009), strategic advisor to Storify (sold do LiveFyre), founder and CEO of Goodmail Systems , a founding VP of pioneering broadband provider @Home Network and SVP and General Manager of Excite@Home (1996-2001), led the design and development of Apple’s online service eWorld (1993-1996), and was founder and CEO of MediaWorks (1987-1992), an early developer of news-agenting technology. He is also a strategic advisor and seed funder of numerous startups. In 1979, Gingras created the first interactive online news magazine – done in partnership with CBS, NBC, and PBS using interactive television technology known as broadcast teletext. In the fall of 2012, he was recognized with the Manship Prize for contributions to the evolution of digital media.
Gingras will speak at 7:30 p.m. at the Carolina Club in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.
For directions and information about where to park, click here.
About the Colloquium
The Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium was established in 2009 to honor a figure of national prominence in the areas of media law or media policy. It was funded in part by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and North Carolina Cable Telecommunications Association to recognize the more than 30 years of service that Wade Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law, provided to these organizations as well as media and technology companies throughout North Carolina and the nation.
The colloquium is a world-class event that draws attendees from both industry and academia. Speakers have included David Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc.; Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney|ABC Television; and David Cohen, senior executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Past colloquia have been televised by C-SPAN and UNC-TV.
Comcast Executive VP David L. Cohen to Address 2015 Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium
We are pleased to announce that on March 24, 2015, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will host the second-annual Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium, featuring David L. Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Mr. Cohen will speak about “The Democratization of Media” and will then be interviewed by Donald A. Baer, worldwide chair and chief executive officer of the strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller.
Mr. Cohen will speak at 6:00 p.m. in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Friends and colleagues of Wade Hargrove established the colloquium to honor Mr. Hargrove, an honors graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an accomplished media lawyer, by creating a forum for the discussion of national media law and policy issues.
About David L. Cohen
Mr. Cohen is executive vice president of Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable and broadband provider. He is responsible for corporate communications, government and regulatory affairs, public affairs, legal affairs, corporate administration, and community investment. Before assuming his role at Comcast in 2002, he worked as a partner in and chairman of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the country. Mr. Cohen graduated from Swarthmore College in 1977 with a B.A. and earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (summa cum laude) in 1981.
Mr. Cohen is highly regarded in Washington, D.C. He led Comcast’s efforts to acquire NBC Universal and has been publicly arguing in favor of Comcast’s proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. Mr. Cohen also advocates for reducing the digital divide by providing Internet access to low-income communities.
About Donald A. Baer
Mr. Baer has been a member of Burson-Marsteller’s global senior management team since 2008, while also leading major engagements for clients in every sector and part of the world, especially for top technology, communications, and media companies. In 2011, he became co-founder/chair of Palisades Media Ventures, a public affairs media development company co-owned with WPP.
During his career, Mr. Baer has played leading roles as a media and communications executive for a wide range of important business, government, and non-profit organizations. He has had extensive strategic, creative, and operational experience at the White House, major global companies, and media organizations.
Mr. Baer, who received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has served as a member of the University’s Board of Visitors and is in the N.C. Public Relations Hall of Fame.
Join the Conversation
You can follow along on Twitter and add to the discussion by using the hashtag #HargroveUNC
Directions and Parking
For directions to the event and information about where to park, click here.
Hargrove Communications Law and Policy Colloquium: The Future of Television News
On November 4, 2013, the Center will host the inaugural Wade H. Hargrove Communications Law and Policy Colloquium. Friends and colleagues of Wade Hargrove established the colloquium to honor Mr. Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an accomplished media lawyer, by spurring discussion and debate about national media law and policy issues.
This year’s colloquium speakers will be David Barrett, chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc., and Ben Sherwood, president of ABC News, who will talk about “The Future of Television News.” Mr. Barrett and Mr. Sherwood will make brief opening remarks and then engage in a wide-ranging discussion about the challenges and opportunities media companies face in this age of digital convergence.
The event is free and open to the public. If you would like to RSVP, which will help us anticipate the size of the audience, please do so on this page.
About David Barrett
David Barrett joined Hearst in 1984 as general manager of the company’s Baltimore radio stations, later assuming general manager responsibility for the Hearst Radio Group, and then for WBAL-TV in Baltimore. He relocated to New York in 1991 as a vice president of Hearst Corporation and deputy general manager of Broadcasting, with operating oversight for the company’s television and radio stations. In 1997, Hearst Broadcasting merged with Argyle Television to form Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., and he was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of the new entity. He was named president and chief executive officer in 2001.
Mr. Barrett has been the recipient of numerous industry honors. In 2011 he received the DiGamma Kappa Distinguished Achievement Award in Broadcasting from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism, which bestows the annual Peabody Awards, and the First Amendment Leadership Award from The Radio Television Digital News Foundation. In 2008 he was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. In 2005 he was the recipient of The Media Institute’s American Horizon Award and was also inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Management Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was named Broadcasting & Cable magazine’s “Broadcaster of the Year.”
About Ben Sherwood
Ben Sherwood was named president of ABC News in December 2010. He is responsible for all aspects of ABC News’ broadcasts, including “World News with Diane Sawyer,” “Nightline,” “Good Morning America,” “20/20” and “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” In addition, Mr. Sherwood oversees ABC News Radio, ABCNEWS.com, satellite service NewsOne and ABC News NOW. During Mr. Sherwood’s tenure the news division has won the most prestigious honors in the industry, including George Polk, George Foster Peabody, News and Documentary Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, Overseas Press Club, SPJ Sigma Delta Chi and Investigative Reporters and Editors awards.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Sherwood earned a bachelor’s degree in American government and history. From 1986 to 1989, as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he earned master’s degrees in British imperial history and development economics.
Directions to the George Watts Hill Alumni Center from Interstate 40:
Take exit 273 (N.C. 54/Chapel Hill) off I-40. Follow N.C. 54 West for approximately four miles. When you reach the Carolina campus, follow N.C. 54 (now called South Road) to the Bell Tower. Turn left just before the Bell Tower onto Stadium Drive. The George Watts Hill Alumni Center is the last building on the right at the corner of Stadium Drive and Ridge Road. Visitor parking is available in the Rams Head Parking Deck.