Teaching Philosophy
For many students – even those in communications programs – media law can be a daunting subject. This is not this helped by the way that media law classes are often taught: by presenting a litany of abstract rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts, with abstract rules that are often not fully explained and often not put into context, either of the situation in which the case was decided, or how it applies to the work that the students might be doing in the future.
I have tried to fight this tendency in my teaching by getting students involved in the cases and issues we are discussing, and showing them how it applies to their work in journalism, advertising, public relations and related fields. I also use multimedia to reveal the real-life drama and consequences of the legal cases we examine in my classes, to show the importance and impact that the law can have on my students and their careers in media.
Graduate and Undergraduate Courses
University of South Carolina
School of Journalism and Mass Communications, College of Information and Communications,
Assistant Professor, 2016-2021; Associate Professor, 2021-date
Reid H. Montgomery Freedom of Information Chair, 2024-date
Honors College Pearce Faculty Fellow, 2026-date
Internet and Social Media Law (undergraduate): Fall 2022; Spring 2023; Fall 2023; Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026
Internet and Social Media Law (undergraduate honors): Spring 2018*, Fall 2019*, Fall 2021*; Fall 2022; Fall 2023; Spring 2025 (* originally Law and Ethics of Mass Communications: Internet and Social Media)
Law and Ethics of Mass Communications (undergraduate): Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020 (Covid hybrid), Spring 2021 (Covid hybrid), Fall 2021; Spring 2022
Media Law (combined masters and doctoral): Spring 2022; Spring 2023; Spring 2024
Media Law (masters): Spring 2019, Spring 2020
Seminar In Mass Communication Legal Research Methods (doctoral): Fall 2017, Spring 2020
University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
Academic Associate, March 2021 – present
Media Law (law school): Spring 2024; Spring 2025; Spring 2026
Adelphi University
Adjunct Associate Professor, Aug. 2024 – Dec. 2024
Cyber Law & Ethics: Fall 2024 (online)
Louisiana State University
Manship School of Public Communication
Instructor (Graduate Student)
Media Ethics and Social Responsibility (undergraduate): Spring 2016
Mass Media Law (undergraduate): Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015
Manship in D.C. (undergraduate experiential class), co-instructor, Summer 2015
Baruch College, City University of New York
Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Media Ethics and Law (undergraduate): Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Craig Newmark [formerly CUNY] Graduate School of Journalism at City of University of New York
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Legal and Ethical Issues (graduate): Fall 2012
University of Nevada, Reno
Reynolds School of Journalism
Instructor
First Amendment & Society (undergraduate): Fall 2010 (ass’t), Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Online Courses
Pennsylvania State University
Public Relations Law, The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication (posted 2024).
Adelphi University
Cyber Law & Ethics, (Fall 2024).
Faculty Development/Pedagogy Seminars
Robinson, E. and Smith, L. (2022, Nov. 4). “An Easy Choice? Using Multiple-Choice Tests for Program Assessment. Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (2020, Feb. 19). Discussing Controversial Issues and Right of Free Speech. Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (2019, Feb. 12). Discussing Controversial Issues and Right of Free Speech. Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Invited Lectures / Speaking
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2024, Sept. 12). “Public Relations and the Law.” In Holly Overton, Ethics and Regulation in Advertising and Public Relations, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2023, Jan. 25). “Media Law Basics.” In Richard Peterson, Advanced Reporting Topics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2022, Sept. 19). “Public Relations and the Law.” In Holly Overton, Public Relations Research, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2022, Feb. 1). “Media Law Basics.” In M. Carolyn Click and Richard Peterson, Advanced Reporting Topics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2021, Nov. 18). “Contracts and Terms of Service.” In Randy Covington, Social Media and Society, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2021, Sept. 1). “Media Law Basics.” In M. Carolyn Click and Richard Peterson, Advanced Reporting Topics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2020, Oct. 13). “Operating Online & Keeping It Legal.” In Kirstin Pellizzaro, Social Media and Mobile Journalism, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2020, Feb. 26). “Operating Online & Keeping It Legal.” In Kirstin Pellizzaro, Social Media and Mobile Journalism, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2020, Feb. 4). “Danger Zones: Legal and Other Risks Online.” In M. Carolyn Click and Richard Peterson, Advanced Reporting Topics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (speaker and panel moderator) (2019, Nov. 13). “How Far is Too Far?: Libel Law in Political Campaigns.” Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, Manship School of Public Communications, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2019, Sept. 18). “Legal Issues in social and mobile journalism.” In Kirstin Pellizzaro, Social Media and Mobile Journalism, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2019, Sept. 16). “Danger Zones: Legal and Other Risks Online.” In M. Carolyn Click and Richard Peterson, Advanced Reporting Topics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (panelist) (2019, May 1). “Law Day 2019: Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society,” Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2019, Apr. 4). “Crash Course in Copyright.” In Keith Kenney, Photovisual Communications I: Photography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (2018, Sept. 21). “Back to Basics: A Media Law Refresher on Libel Privacy and Access.” In 2018 Media Law School (legal training for working journalists), University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2017, Sept. 13). “The Star Chamber, Zenger and Development of the First Amendment.” In Elisabeth Fondren, American Media History, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Robinson, E. (speaker / panelist) (2017, Feb. 8-9). RTI International (on behalf of U.S. Department of Justice), Potential Impact of Electronic Media Use on the Right to a Fair Trial workshop, Criminal Justice Priority Needs Initiative, National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C.
Resulting report: Dawson, J.C., Banks, D., Michael J. D., Vermeer, M.J.D., and Shelton, S.R. (2018). Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of Electronic Communication and Electronic Devices on the Right to a Fair Trial, Rand Corp. (on behalf of U.S. Department of Justice), Washington, D.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2017, Jan. 31). “Public Relations / Corporate Speech and the Law.” In Holly Ott, Principles of Public Relations, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2016, Nov. 16). “The Writer and the Law.” In Adaobi Duru, Writing for Professional Communicators, University of Louisiana – Monroe, Monroe, La.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2016, Jan. 29). “Creating the First Amendment: Origins and Philosophy.” In Len Apgar, Introduction to Mass Media, Manship School of Mass Communications, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Robinson, E. (guest instructor) (2015, Sept. 2 and 9). “Hitting the Books: Legal Issues in Publishing.” In MaryKatherine Callaway, Publishing in the Digital Age, English Department, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Legal Seminars / Continuing Legal Education Presentations
Robinson, E. (2017, Oct. 26). Fake News: The Law of False Publications. LexisNexis, online continuing legal education webinar.
Robinson, E. (2013, Feb. 6). The Use of Social Media in 21st-Century Litigation, Cumberland School of Law.
Robinson, E. (2012, Mar. 2). #DigitalExpressions: Exploring Free Speech in Cyberspace, Florida Coastal School of Law,.
Robinson, E. (2011, Oct. 22). Media Law in the Digital Age: The Rules Have Changed – Again, Kennesaw State University.
Robinson, E. (2011, May 19), Public Perception of Judges and the Courts, National Judicial College.
Robinson, E. (2009, Oct. 14). Social Media for Lawyers, New York Law School
Supervision of Student Research
Doctoral Students
Dante Mozie, Truth and Service: The North Carolina Central Campus Echo as a Defender and Advocate of Black Racial Uplift, 1927-1974 (doctoral dissertation, competition expected Aug. 2026).
Committee member
Christopher Frear, “Always On Display”: South Carolina Civil Rights Lawyer Matthew J. Perry Jr. Expanding the Civil Sphere Through the Courts and the News Media, 1954-1963 (doctoral dissertation, Aug. 2023).
Committee member
Daniel Haun, Do You Agree?: Manifesting Assent in Clickwrap Agreements (research paper, Dec. 2018)
Advisor and co-author
Presented at 2019 International Communications Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC, May 25, 2019
Published as Haun, D.D. & Robinson, E.P. (2022), Do You Agree?: The Psychology and Legalities of Assent to Clickwrap Agreements, [University of] Richmond Journal of Law & Technology, 28:4, 623-656.
Brandon Birmingham, The 140-Character Plea: Social Media Blocking by Elected Officials and the Right to Petition (Dec. 2018).
Advisor
Submitted to 2018 AEJMC Southeastern Colloquium, Tuscaloosa, AL, March 2019
Undergraduate Students
Amelia Richardson, NetChoice, LLC. v. Bonta (undergraduate honors thesis), Fall 2025 – Spring 2026
Chair
Alexander Roberts, Reclaiming Sound: Copyright Restoration as Cultural and Economic Justice for Black Musicians (undergraduate honors thesis), Fall 2025
Chair
Caroline Clemson, An Analysis of the Ethical Breakdown in the Use of Propaganda During WW II (undergraduate honors thesis (Dec. 2021).
Committee member
Madison Kelly, True Crime in the Courtroom: How Consumption of True Crime Media Affects Juries (undergraduate honors thesis, Dec. 2020).
second chair
Morgan Hill, The Trouble with True Threats (2018)
co-author
registered with University of South Carolina Undergraduate Research Registry
presented and awarded second best faculty paper in Law and Policy Division at 2019 AEJMC Annual Conference, Toronto, ON
published as Robinson, E. and Hill, M. (2020). The Trouble with True Threats, University of Baltimore Journal of Media Law & Ethics 8:2, 37-67.
High School Programs
South Carolina Scholastic Press Association conventions (legal sessions for students and advisors): 2019, 2020, 2023, 2025
Southern Interscholastic Press Association conventions (legal sessions for students and advisors): 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Louisiana Scholastic Press Association, fall conferences (legal sessions for students and advisors): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Nevada High School Journalism Day (media law sessions): 2010, 2011, 2012
LeadAmerica (annual journalism/media summer immersion program for high school students): 2008, 2009, 2010
Instructor, Columbia Scholastic Press Association (annual convention for high school journalists): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Speaker, N.Y.C. Bar Association (career days, journalism and Constitution programs in public schools): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005