Tag Archives | Student Jobs

Scholarship Winners 2016

unc_medialawThe UNC Center for Media Law and Policy has awarded $6,000 in scholarships to three law students working in unpaid or underpaid internships in the field of media law and policy this summer.

These are the scholarship winners and where they are working:

Varsha Mangal is a legal intern in the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C.

Chanda Marlowe is spending half of her summer working for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in San Francisco and the other half working for the Future of Privacy Forum in Washington, D.C.

Rachel M. Rice is working in the business affairs office of Broadway Video, a global entertainment and media company.  She is located in Los Angeles.

Congratulations to our wonderful students!

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Media Law Student Works at NC COA and the Volvo Group

MeThis is the third in a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships.

I spent the first half of my summer working at the North Carolina Court of Appeals as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Wanda Bryant.  This job was a perfect fit for me as a former high school English teacher.  A typical day included researching points of law and writing memos for the judge.  I was fortunate to receive extensive feedback from Judge Bryant and her clerks. 

When I wasn’t preparing memos, I attended oral arguments.  I was particularly excited to observe a panel of three judges take on a privacy law issue.  The case involved a man who accessed his wife’s iPhone without her permission by placing her thumb on the iPhone’s Touch ID sensor while she was sleeping.  He then used that information to obtain evidence of her affair.  The panel had to decide whether that evidence was legally obtained and admissible.  Afterwards, in chambers, it was fascinating to hear the judges’ perspectives on how the law should deal with emerging technologies, especially because this topic has been at the forefront of many of the media law courses I have taken at UNC.

After the court’s session ended, I began working as an internal communications intern at the Volvo Group of Companies in North America in Greensboro, N.C.  There’s a lot of research and writing in this position as well, but the content is different.  I assist a small but diverse team of extremely talented and creative individuals in their efforts to enhance employees’ business understanding, build employee engagement, and promote the company’s core values. 

There’s never a dull moment here.  Internal communications projects include filming and producing news segments that keep Volvo employees up-to-date about what’s going on in the company, managing events like the Volvo Ocean Race, and maintaining positive community relations.   Media law is often discussed.   The communication team members have to be careful not to violate copyright or privacy laws as they push boundaries in their field by creating interactive content that informs and inspires employees. 

It’s been an amazing summer!  Through these internships, I have gained a deeper understanding of the law and how it shapes corporate communications. 

Chanda Marlowe is a third-year student in UNC’s dual-degree program (a master’s in communication and a J.D.). 

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Media Law Student Working for FIRE in Philadelphia

Lindsie-2This is the second of a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships: 

I’m nearing the end of my summer working as a legal intern at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a non-profit watchdog protecting freedom of expression and other civil liberties on college campuses. As a First Amendment nerd and education policy junkie, I have loved every minute of my job.

There has been no shortage of work to be done at FIRE. Within my first few weeks, I was teaming up with FIRE’s other legal intern and Student Press Law Center staffers to draft an amici brief in support of a college student who had been expelled from school for tweeting insults about his ex-girlfriend. Right now, I’m researching relevant law and developing arguments that can be applied when a college indirectly retaliates against a student publication by disciplining its adviser. Other assignments have had me doing long-term research about due process and writing about First Amendment retaliation cases for the FIRE blog.

This week, I witnessed UNC-Chapel Hill becoming one of fewer than 25 colleges nationwide that FIRE rates as “green light” for its speech codes. This means that Carolina is among the best of the best in demonstrating a commitment to protecting students’ right to free speech (and it also means we’re beating Duke, which is still stuck at a yellow light). After having been a “yellow light” school since 2008, Carolina earned its new rating by revising multiple speech codes, including a vague policy banning speech that “disparages” another. Carolina had been a “red light” school prior to 2008.

I get giddy when law and social criticism meet, so I appreciate that FIRE doesn’t approach censorship solely as a legal concept. Instead, FIRE sees it as a societal issue with broad consequences. When I’m not researching legal questions, I’m engaging in conversations about pluralism, civic engagement, and media literacy – all of which are harmed when student expression is stifled.

FIRE’s office is in the heart of Philadelphia, across the street from Independence Hall and only two blocks from the Liberty Bell. Since I am lucky enough to live just four blocks from the office in a small, historic townhouse, I have had ample opportunity to explore and be entrenched in the history of the city.

This internship has been a fantastic way to learn more about First Amendment and education law while putting my skills and passion to work on real-life cases.

Lindsie Trego

Second-year student in UNC-CH’s dual degree program, earning a master’s in mass communication and a J.D.

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Media Law Student Working for ACLU in New York City

NatashaThis is the first in a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships:

I work with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology (“SPT”) Project in New York City on all kinds of digital speech and privacy issues. On the privacy side, I’ve helped with SPT’s efforts to protect against warrantless collection of cell phone location data and suspicionless surveillance in public places. I also drafted ACLU’s comments on the increased collection of biometric data (fingerprints, iris scans, facial recognition photos, and photos of tattoos, scars, and marks) at U.S. border crossings. On the speech side, I’m helping the ACLU fight state laws that threaten online anonymity.

One great thing about working at the ACLU is that it houses so many different projects addressing important civil rights and civil liberties issues. This allows us to collaborate when, for example, a privacy issue also presents racial justice and criminal justice problems. This is great for me because I’m interested in how surveillance disparately impacts minority and low-income communities. I’m learning a lot!

Natasha Duarte is a fourth-year student in UNC’s dual-degree program (a master’s in mass communication and a J.D.).

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Job opportunities in media law at your fingertips

FIND JOBIt’s never too early – or too late – to start looking for the internship, fellowship, or job that is right for you.  However, the process of sifting through hundreds of postings looking for what you want can be daunting.  That is why the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy created its Job Center.  It’s a centralized place to find opportunities to work in the field of media law and policy.

We Bring Our Network to You

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy has a large (and growing) network of media law and policy minded folks who are often looking for people just like you.  Here is just one example: The multidisciplinary project Privacy Tools For Sharing Research Data at Harvard is looking for undergraduates, law students, graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scholars to join its efforts to help enable the collection, analysis, and sharing of sensitive data while providing robust privacy protections.  If you are willing to live in Boston for the summer (and who wouldn’t?), this could be a great summer gig.

Easy to Use

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 what we have to offer.  Just like that, opportunities for internships, fellowships, and academic teaching positions (Academic – Journalism and Academic – Law) are at your fingertips.

Wide Variety of Jobs

The job opportunities in our database are endless.  If it pertains to media law, we have it.  Our categories include: IP, Copyright, Photo Journalism, Broadcast, FTC listings, Cyber Law, and Trademark.  It’s a one-stop shop for media law jobs.  Here is a list of some of my favorite recent postings:

  • Internship – NPR, Office of the General Counsel: A 10-week program that provides legal interns with an opportunity to work on diverse assignments and a wide range of legal issues, including First Amendment and intellectual property.
  • The ITS Global Policy Fellowship Program: A 4-week program in Brazil that provides fellows from around the world who are interested in internet and technology policy with an opportunity to deepen their knowledge about the Brazilian technology industry.
  • Free Press Public Interest Summer Associate: A 10-12-week program that provides summer associates with an opportunity to work on projects that focus on Net Neutrality, media ownership rules, antitrust law, the use of spectrum, wireless consumer protections and cable television policy.

The Time is Now

If you are currently a student, there are still opportunities for you to find the perfect summer position after on campus interviews are over.  Recent graduates and experienced job seekers, employers’ needs are ever changing, so it pays to be persistent with your job search.  Remember our Job Center is available year-round.  Use it, along with other UNC Center for Media Law and Policy resources, to land your dream job.

  • Join the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy group on LinkedIn!
  • Read about UNC dual degree student Natasha Duarte’s summer internship experience at the Electronic Privacy Information Center here.
  • Read about UNC dual degree student Kevin Delaney’s summer internship experience at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press here.

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

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