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Bill to expand digital venues for public notices draws debate over news deserts and newspaper revenue
Summary
House Bill 3,431 would broaden which digital news outlets qualify to publish legally required public notices. Small-town mayors and local digital publishers supported the change; newspaper publishers and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association warned it could undercut local journalism revenue and urged caution.
Representative David Gomberg told the committee the bill modernizes Oregon’s public-notice statute to allow established digital news organizations that meet standards of locally original content to publish legal notices. He said closures and consolidation of print newspapers have left many communities without a local printed paper that residents read.
Mayor Christopher McMoran of Philomath said his city has no local print paper but does have a digital outlet, the Philomath News, which the city uses to reach residents. “We are forced to publish our public notices in the Corvallis Gazette-Times or the Albany Democrat-Herald,” McMoran said, noting those papers are out-of-county and reach fewer Philomath readers than the local digital outlet.
Quentin Smith, editor and board chair of Yachats News (a nonprofit digital outlet), described a growth in local digital publishers filling coverage gaps in news deserts; he said his nonprofit’s website and newsletter reach a high share of local readers and that digital archives can be permanent and accessible.
Local broadcasters and regional publishers, including KOBI TV and Elkhorn Media Group, expressed support for the bill as a way to ensure notices reach local residents and to allow broadcasters and local online outlets to amplify notice distribution.
Newspaper publishers and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (ONPA) urged caution. Jeb Bladine, publisher of the News-Register, and Greg Peden, ONPA’s lobbyist, argued the statute should retain guardrails because legal notices are a major revenue source for many small newspapers and because the earlier 2023 amendment already permitted digital publications that emulate print to qualify. Peden said the 2023 changes established sideboards that distinguish credible digital publications and warned that a too-broad change could allow low-quality sites or entities to publish required notices.
Philomath’s city attorney, Ashley DeGill, told the committee the bill does not remove formality from the statute and that the proposed language still requires regular publication and locally produced content; she said the city supports greater flexibility so notices reach local audiences.
Committee members raised questions about balancing support for local printed newspapers with the reality of evolving digital news consumption and the need to avoid creating perverse incentives that would strip newspapers of revenue needed to sustain reporting. Several members said they were open to amendments and further discussion to strike a balance.
No final vote occurred during the hearing; proponents and opponents requested additional conversations and potential technical fixes.
