Oregon's journalists are getting a lawyer, thanks to RCFP partnership
Oregon’s journalists will soon have a lawyer in their corner.
The Reporter’s Committee for the Freedom of the Press chose Oregon as one of five states for its Local Legal Initiative. RCFP will hire an attorney based in Oregon to provide pro bono legal support to local news organizations for a minimum of two years.
SPJ Oregon worked with Oregon Public Broadcasting and the University of Oregon School of Law to submit an application on behalf of a coalition of more than a dozen news organizations across the state. Ginger McCall, Oregon’s former public records advocate, also wrote in support. University of Oregon’s School of Law has committed to providing externships for law students to partner with the RCFP attorney, expanding the Initiative’s potential reach.
Our proposal focused on the need for attorneys to help enforce and strengthen Oregon’s public records law, particularly improper delays and records denials by elected officials. Under current Oregon law, any public records decision made by an elected official can only be appealed by filing a lawsuit, effectively preventing the public from holding its government accountable unless they can afford an attorney.
We wrote, in part:
Oregon has a culture of secrecy and complacency around access to public records that’s been allowed to fester because nearly every media organization in the state lacks the financial resources to regularly challenge improper denials or delays in court. Government agencies and elected officials routinely face no consequences for ignoring the law, harming the public good and hampering the ability of journalists to hold those in power accountable for their decisions.
This issue is especially pronounced for records held by elected officials. Oregon’s law provides no way to appeal a denial of records by an elected official except in court. As the state’s former Records Advocate wrote, this “is an often prohibitively costly and time-consuming undertaking for most requestors.”
While working on our application, we received examples of improper records denials from every corner of Oregon. Journalists shared stories from the City of Portland to rural towns in eastern Oregon, from elected Democrats and Republicans, from the offices of state elected officials to small school districts. They included records relating to school concussion protocols, records of elected officials’ taxpayer-funded expenses, and routine information like contracts for high-level employees.
While some larger media organizations in Oregon have lawyers who can help push back against these denials, a high cost for public records or lack of response often means stories go untold. Access to information about how government functions is a basic cornerstone of democracy and allows the press to fulfill its watchdog role over public spending, decisionmaking and outcomes.
SPJ Oregon has made advocacy around public records and open government a top priority. During the 2019 legislative session, we championed HB 2353, a bill allowing district attorneys to impose a fine of up to $200 for public bodies that unduly delay responses to public records requests.
SPJ Oregon thanks the many reporters and news outlets who supported and contributed to the application. We’re thrilled to work with RCFP and our partners to push back against this culture and further our work keeping Oregon government open and transparent.
Our coalition includes
EO Media (publishers of the daily Bend Bulletin, East Oregonian and a number of other newspapers in central and eastern Oregon)
Eugene Weekly
Gales Creek Journal
Jefferson Public Radio (Ashland)
Klamath Herald and News
The Malheur Enterprise (Vale)
Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Pamplin Media Group, publishers of the Portland Tribune and two dozen community newspapers
Portland Business Journal
Salem Reporter
Statesman Journal (Salem)
Underscore News, a new investigative nonprofit with a focus on tribal coverage
University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications
University of Oregon School of Law
Willamette Week