Addressing a crowd of students as the keynote speaker for Thursday’s First Amendment Day, Frank LoMonte encouraged prospective journalists to responsibly exercise their legal rights.
LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, spoke to students about the changing world of law and media, and the importance of student publications on college campuses.
“If you don’t tell these stories, we can’t count on the professional news media to do it,” LoMonte said.
The speech, titled “New Media, Old Obstacles: How Online Publishing Is (And Isn’t) Changing the Game for College Journalists,” was sponsored by the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy as a part of the organization’s second annual First Amendment Day.
He said online publications are changing the journalism world by completely revamping who is defined as a journalist, increasing privacy protection, and changing the entire process of receiving and processing reader comments.
Cathy Packer, journalism professor and faculty director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, chose LoMonte as the speaker.
“I had heard he was an excellent speaker, which proved to be true,” Packer said. “I thought a press focus was appropriate since most of the people who attended were journalism students.”
LoMonte said that even though the press center is often perceived as being focused toward the future, contemporary issues should be at the forefront of discussion.
“(The Student Press Law Center) is supporting the present of journalism, and we don’t know what the future is going to bring,” he said.
