Free Press media reformer to speak about federal policy and journalism

Josh Silver, president and CEO of Free Press, will speak about the role of federal policy in shaping journalism on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. in Carroll Hall on the UNC campus.

The lecture – free and open to the public – is sponsored by the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, a collaborative initiative of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the UNC School of Law.

Silver will discuss major regulatory issues facing U.S. media including how to expand broadband Internet service to all American homes, whether to continue to allow Internet service providers to censor their customers’ communications, and how best to fund professional news reporting. He will discuss what he sees as the failures of government oversight and provide a brief history of government regulation of the old and new media.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, the group supports diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, quality journalism and universal access to communications. The group has offices in Washington, D.C., and Florence, Mass. For more about Silver and Free Press, visit www.freepress.net.

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy is a forum for study and debate about important media law and policy issues facing North Carolina and the nation. The center’s goal is to enhance the discussion of media law and policy issues by bringing together people who represent a diversity of informed views. For more about the center, visit medialaw.unc.edu.