Doing more good: why Oregon needs to rebuild its civic information infrastructure

Yahoo

21-05-2025

A bill now advancing through Oregon's legislature has catalyzed a critical conversation about the future of journalism, an industry advocate says. (Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon stands at a pivotal moment in reimagining how we sustain local news and strengthen our civic life.
Senate Bill 686, now advancing through the legislature, has catalyzed a critical conversation about the future of journalism, democracy, and public trust.
Some have expressed concern about Senate Bill 686, which would require dominant tech platforms like Google and Meta to fairly compensate local news outlets for the content that helps make their platforms useful. The worry is that if the bill passes, companies like Meta could follow through on threats to block news links, potentially cutting off a significant channel for audience reach at a time when many outlets are already struggling.
Rather than debate whether tech giants should be protected from public policy because they might retaliate, let's focus on what this framing overlooks: it narrows our collective vision for what Oregon's news and civic information ecosystem could become.
It's not enough to avoid harm, not when communities across our nation already suffer from a lack of trusted, accessible information.
This is a moment to do more good.
Our 'Oregon Local News and Information Ecosystem' report lays out a vision for how we get there, through a collaborative, cross-sector model supported by what we call the 'three-legged stool:' public, private, and philanthropic sectors all working together.
To do more good, we must recognize journalism not as a struggling industry, but as vital civic infrastructure. Just as roads and broadband connect people physically, journalism connects people socially and politically, helping them navigate crises, understand public policy, and participate in civic life.
Oregon's civic information infrastructure is under strain. Newsroom closures, shrinking coverage in rural areas, and underinvestment in BIPOC and ethnic media have left many without access to essential information. Rebuilding it to a standard that The Civic Information Index outlines means acting across all three sectors.
The public sector has a unique responsibility to rebalance the market and protect civic infrastructure, and SB 686 is Oregon's boldest attempt yet.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Khanh Pham, requires dominant digital platforms like Google and Meta to compensate Oregon journalism outlets directly, intended to increase the number of journalists covering the state and contribute to an independent Oregon Civic Information Consortium, modeled after New Jersey's.
That nonprofit body would then distribute grants to strengthen local news and civic information initiatives across the state, with specific provisions ensuring micro and startup publications and media projects in underserved communities, rural areas and ethnic media outlets are included.
While some critics worry about unintended consequences, SB 686 is built with flexibility and equity. It has attracted national attention, spurred bipartisan dialogue, and inspired complementary ideas like consumer news tax credits.
However, structural change of this kind requires bold public leadership through the lens of Oregon, where public media plays a significant role and hedge fund-owned outlets are less dominant than in other states.
Inaction would let the current inequities and information gaps deepen further.
The private sector, especially tech companies, has an outsized role in shaping information flows. Google and Meta heavily determine what news is seen, shared, or monetized, and have benefited from local journalism without proportionate reinvestment.
When faced with legislation like SB 686, they've threatened to block news links, as Meta has already done in Canada.
Yet in both Canada and California, Google has agreed to multi-million dollar settlements to support journalism through collective funding models. In Canada, it now contributes to the Canadian Journalism Collective, a consortium of 140+ outlets, under the country's Online News Act.
These models show that when guided by clear policy and public pressure, even dominant platforms can participate in rebuilding civic infrastructure.
While the tech giant's support of the news industry through its Google News Initiative is commendable, its growing influence on how news is distributed deserves scrutiny. AI-powered search summaries rely heavily on high-quality journalism but often bypass the original sources, reducing referral traffic and undermining publishers' sustainability. Tech companies must fairly compensate the journalists whose work powers these tools.
Philanthropy forms the third leg of the stool, uniquely positioned to fund innovation, center equity, and reach places where market and policy solutions can't.
At the Agora Journalism Center, we've advocated for creating a Press Forward Oregon Local Chapter, modeled after the national campaign to revitalize local news: Press Forward. A coordinated state-level initiative would offer regional foundations and grant-making bodies ways to align efforts, pool resources, and fund community-rooted solutions.
Local funders already support health, education, the arts, and climate resilience, all of which depend on an informed public. The opportunity is to see civic information as part of that essential infrastructure. That means sustaining those serving local communities' information health and investing in what's possible, especially in communities long excluded from traditional coverage.
Doing more good requires collective leadership. No one sector can fix Oregon's civic information crisis alone, but together, they can build something stronger, more inclusive, and more sustainable. This isn't about saving legacy institutions for nostalgia's sake. It's about rebuilding trust, re-centering local voices, and helping communities face everything from natural disasters to housing and mental health challenges with the information they need.
The Agora Journalism Center and the broad and diverse supporters of SB 686 are ready to help make that vision real. The stool is ready to be built. The question is whether we will step up, not just to avoid harm, but to do more good for every Oregonian.
Note: Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor Julia Shumway is board treasurer of the Greater Oregon Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which supports the bill referenced in this column. She did not participate in the editing of this item.
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