Our statement on Senate Bill 686

On Tuesday, June 24, Senate Bill 686 failed to advance from the Oregon Senate floor by one vote. The goal of the bill was simple: require tech companies like Google and Meta to pay fair compensation for the Oregon news they use to bolster their profits. The Greater Oregon Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists was part of a broad coalition of media organizations, academics, labor unions and more who supported SB 686 with the hope that it could reinforce the vital work of local newsrooms. 

“The narrow failure of Senate Bill 686 is bad news for Oregonians, some of whom are living in news deserts,” SPJ Oregon President Penny Rosenberg said. “But we’re proud of our coalition’s hard work and progress toward achieving a solution.”  

While this is a setback, we remain undeterred in supporting SB 686 and the goals it sought to achieve. Local journalism remains in crisis. Layoffs continue to gut newsrooms providing Oregon communities with needed public-service journalism holding the powerful accountable, building community and informing the public. 

We believe that a free and fair Oregon is not possible without a vibrant and independent press, and SPJ Oregon will continue to work in support of that goal.