Oregon’s Stone-Age Approach to Save Journalism
Oregon is the latest state to introduce legislation intended to save “digital journalism providers.” A bill working its way through the Legislative Assembly has attracted the support of mainstream media outlets, such as The Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Even Fred Flintstone chimed in, begging the legislature to “Keep Cave News Alive.”
Oregon Senate Bill 686 and its proposed amendments aim to address the financial struggles of news organizations in the digital age by requiring online platforms to engage in arbitration to pay digital-journalism providers or else to donate to the Oregon Civic Information Consortium.
But this approach, often referred to as a “link tax,” is likely to create more problems than it solves. The Legislative Assembly would be wise to let this bill die before it hits the floor.
The core issue with SB 686 is its fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between online platforms and publishers. This relationship is mutually beneficial: platforms drive valuable traffic to news sites, and news content makes platforms more useful for users. Publishers actively seek to maximize their presence on platforms like Google and Facebook, demonstrating the value they receive from being linked.