There is an interesting battle brewing over whether or not independent online bloggers qualify as media when it comes to sitting in on executive sessions. Executive sessions exclude the public from overhearing discussions held by councils and commissions on specific matters qualifying for exemption from public meetings law. Oregon law allows for members of the media to sit in on most but not all executive sessions to act as a watchdog so that elected officials do not stray on to non-exempted topics.

A Lakeside blogger, allowed into executive sessions under previous councils, is challenging the refusal of the current board to allow her access to OGEC (Oregon Government Ethics Commission) which oversees executive session violations. The question being raised is does a self professed online news blog qualify as media under Oregon statutes? Absent an accepted and defensible definition of “media” governing bodies may get to hand select based upon personal likes or dislikes who is allowed into an executive session and who isn’t, as is the case in Lakeside.

Perhaps, the real question should be which media representatives are best qualified to fulfill the “watchdog” function intended by the original authors of the statutes. In other words, because the media may not report on executive session discussion the only reason for a media representative to attend is to report on matters discussed illegally outside of public view. On May 10, 2011 the selection committee appointed to choose a replacement for the late Nikki Whitty violated the public meetings law by deliberating over the candidates and excluding the public. The World reporter, Gail Elber, was present but she missed the violation until I brought it to her attention later. A few months back another World reporter attended an executive session held by the board of a Bandon hospital and recognized that some topics were not exempt and reported those matters in the paper. In other words, there is little point in sitting in on closed sessions without thorough understanding of what is and what isn’t exempt.

Personally, while I have sat in on and been invited to sit in on the occasional executive session, I see it more as a responsibility rather than a privilege and beyond the call of duty of this volunteer blogger. That said, I firmly believe that closed discussions all too often stray over the exempt boundaries as described by law and once suggested that local papers collaborate or at least coordinate to take shifts or turns having reporters observe these sessions. This Tuesday I will be speaking on the Mark McKelvey show between 5 and 6 PM and will discuss specific local examples of abuse of the executive session exemptions.

Finally, there are all types of blogs talking about fishing, teen angst, investing and endless other topics. “News” blogs can range from small personal efforts like MGx with a focus on local politics or the Lakeside blog all the way to Talking Points Memo which receives 25 million views per day and has fact checkers, editors and reporters with White House press passes.

For more information on public meetings law follow this link or use this trusty checklist

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