Page 46 - Briefcase Volume 36 Number 2
P. 46

UH LAW



                  CENTER BROADENS



            COMMUNITY OUTREACH



                                        WITH

                         BRIEFCASE RADIO







             Since taking to the airwaves in September 2016, Briefcase has been informing
             Houstonians on a variety of topical legal issues.
               The weekly radio segment is done in partnership with Houston Public Media
             and can be heard on 88.7 FM. Hosted by University of Houston Law Center Dean
             Leonard M. Baynes, Briefcase episodes feature a Law Center faculty member
             discussing a topic in their area of expertise.
               Topics have ranged from credit cards and college students, musical trademarks
             and copyright of the song “Happy Birthday to You,” net neutrality, and Hurricane
             Harvey, among many others.
               “As a premier urban law school, it is imperative for our faculty, alumni, and
             students to share their expertise with the larger Houston community,” Baynes said.
             “Briefcase allows the Law Center to showcase its expertise and provide cogent
             information on legal issues to the public.
               “It is even more important to do this now as legal issues dominate the discourse
             on thorny societal challenges like immigration, income inequality and the
             provision of health care, as well as many other issues.”
               The Law Center earned a gold medal at the 2017 Collegiate Advertising Awards
             competition for its segment titled, “Spotting Fake News.” The featured guest,
             Amanda Watson, director of the O’Quinn Library and an assistant professor,
             provided tips on how to distinguish between truthful information and false news.
               “The prevalence of social media results in a lot of unsubstantiated news stories
             entering the public domain,” Watson said. “We’re all at risk when lies are presented
             as valid news. Invented news items led to S.E.C. fraud charges against stock
             scammers, a D.C. restaurant owner barely escaping an armed vigilante attack, and
             false murder accusations aimed against an innocent man. False reports can affect
             our economy, our safety and our understanding of right and wrong.
               “Check the source! Is it reliable? One you recognize and trust? Does the URL
             have an extra .co or a funny spelling? These are signs of an intentionally deceptive
             website,” Watson continued. “Look for identifying information that clearly defines
             the owner of the website. And remember, it is extremely unlikely that only one
             source is reporting a story. Check other trusted sources to confirm.”
                Briefcase airs every Wednesday at 5:49 a.m., 7:49 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2:39 p.m.
             Segments are regularly shared on the Law Center’s social media channels, and
             weekly updates can be found under the Faculty Experts section at law.uh.edu.   Director of the O'Quinn Library
             Every episode is also available on Houston Public Media’s website at    and Assistant Professor Amanda
                                                                                     Watson and Dean Leonard
             https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/shows/briefcase/. ■                  M. Baynes prepare to record a
                                                                                     Briefcase radio segment at the
                                                                                     Houston Public Media Station.



          46 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER
   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51