SB 686 Will Support the Black Press

Oregon State Senator Lew FrederickAs a longtime journalist who spent decades in Oregon’s newsrooms before I became a state legislator, I remember when the Oregon Capitol had 65 people in the capitol press corps. Now, there are just 15. When I was a reporter at Channel 8, there were 100 people in the newsroom. Now there are only 30. A whopping 75% of journalism jobs in Oregon have been lost since 2001, due to declines in advertising and other revenue that news publishers depend on. And, I’ve seen how small, trusted Black and community publications close or struggle to stay open.

That’s why I support Senate Bill 686. It’s about fairness and survival. Big Tech corporations like Google and Facebook have made billions by siphoning off and monetizing local news content. This unfair trade practice is only getting worse with Big Tech using AI to scrape and summarize local news content and selling advertising on their platforms that completely bypass local news sites like The Skanner or Portland Observer. SB 686 would be a step towards supporting these local media outlets that publish local news. SB 686 will also create an Oregon Civic Information Consortium that would be the strongest in the nation, to ensure grant funds are available to support smaller, community-based and Black-owned newsrooms.

Let’s not be fooled by the scare tactics from Big Tech. They’ve been profiting off our stories and communities for years without paying their fair share. Meta and Google have already agreed to negotiate and pay for local news in Australia, Canada, and California.

They have fair deals with bigger players like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, but they continue to rip off Black-owned publications and Oregon’s local news providers.

Oregon’s SB 686 follows that proven model. It ensures these funds go back to the trusted, local voices that tell our stories, hold power accountable and connect us to each other.

The suggestion that this bill will somehow harm Black-owned newspapers and community media is wrong. SB 686 is designed to protect and invest in the smaller, community-rooted outlets that are closest to the people.

Local journalism is not a luxury. It’s the bedrock of a healthy democracy. When it disappears, so does the investigative reporting that holds government and big business accountable, critical information about public schools, crime and policing, weather-related emergencies and other key news that our communities depend on. Let’s stand up for Oregon’s ethnic media, for our civic health and for a future where every community’s voice is heard. Let’s pass SB 686.

Oregon State Senator Lew Frederick is a veteran journalist and media strategist whose career spans 17 years as a television reporter and a lifelong commitment to public communication, education, and civil rights.