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Senate committee hears hours of testimony on SB 15 80 to compensate Oregon newsrooms for platform use
Summary
Senate Bill 15 80, sponsored by Sen. Pham, would let Oregon news providers seek statutory damages for covered platforms that use their content and funnels most recovered funds to local newsroom payroll and a Civic Information Consortium; supporters say it will sustain local journalism, opponents cite First Amendment and federal preemption risks.
Senator Hai Pham introduced Senate Bill 15 80 — the Oregon Journalism Preservation/Protection Act — during the Senate Committee on Commerce and General Government hearing Wednesday, Feb. 11, arguing the measure is designed to restore lost revenue to Oregon newsrooms and protect local reporting jobs. Pham said more than 18 Oregon news outlets have closed since 2022 and that dominant digital platforms have extracted advertising value from local reporting without paying publishers.
"This isn't about a handout. This is about restitution for a theft and correcting a market that has been illegally monopolized," Pham said, describing a funding framework in the dash-2 amendment that directs roughly $1 of every $10 into grants for micropublications and the remaining $9 into an arbitration pool, of which 90% must be spent on newsroom payroll for journalists producing content for an Oregon audience.
Supporters from large and small news organizations…
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