(A) Currently recognized news media organizations.
(1) The following entities are hereby recognized as news media organizations eligible to attend executive sessions because they have an established history of meeting the requirements of this policy: The News Guard (Lincoln City), The News Times (Newport), and News Lincoln County.com.
(2) No other entity shall be permitted to attend an executive session unless it is recognized through the process described in division (B) below.
(B) Recognition of other news media organizations.
(1) The following entities are recognized as news media organizations eligible to attend executive sessions:
(a) A general or associate member newspaper of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, a broadcast member of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters, or a member of the Associated Press;
(b) A newspaper that the city uses for publication of public notices and that meets the requirements of O.R.S. 193.020; or
(c) An entity recognized by the city as being a news source that is:
1. Organized and operated to regularly and continuously publish, broadcast, transmit via the internet, or otherwise disseminate news to the public, and that regularly reports on activities of the city or matters of the nature under consideration by the city; and
2. Determined by the City Council to be a business entity that is institutionalized and that is committed to, and is structured to support, the terms of O.R.S. 192.660(4) (representatives of the news media shall be allowed to attend executive sessions other than those held under this section relating to labor negotiations or executive session held pursuant to O.R.S. 332.061(2) but the governing body may require that specified information be undisclosed.) For the purposes of this section, institutionalized means long-established or well-established. In making this determination, the City Council may consider and weigh any factors that it deems to be relevant, including, without limitation, the existence of any of the following factors:
a. The entity has multiple personnel with defined roles within its organizational structure;
b. The names of news-reporting personnel, and responsible entity management personnel, together with addresses and contact telephone numbers, are readily available; and
c. The entity has an available process for correcting errors, including violations of executive session statutes, by a person with authority to take corrective measures.
(2) (a) It shall be the entity’s burden to persuade the City Council by substantial evidence that it should be recognized as a news media organization meeting the criteria in division (B)(1) above. Such evidence must be submitted not less than ten business days in advance of the first executive session that the entity desires to attend. The City Council will make a determination, in regular session, prior to the first executive session the entity desires to attend.
(b) The City Council may elect to forgo this procedure in cases where the City Council, in its sole discretion, determines that it can immediately recognize that an entity qualifies under this policy, or in cases where the public body, in its sole discretion, determines that other good cause exists for making an expedited determination. A determination that the entity is not recognized shall be based upon written findings addressing the criteria in division (B)(1) above.
(C) Attendance at executive sessions. Representatives of news media organizations recognized pursuant to divisions (A) and (B) above shall be allowed to attend executive sessions, except as described in O.R.S. 192.660(4) and 192.660(5), pursuant to the following process:
(1) The representative must provide substantial evidence persuading the City Council, that he or she is a news reporter for the recognized news media organization. In making its determination whether to recognize the person as a representative of the news media organization, the City Council shall require:
(a) A press badge or identification issued by the recognized news media organization, plus proof of identity (such as a driver’s license);
(b) A recently published news article in the recognized news media organization publication or broadcast, with the person’s byline, or a masthead showing the person’s name as a member of the news gathering staff of the news media organization, plus proof of identity; or
(c) A letter on letterhead from an editor of the recognized news media organization in which the editor states that the reporter is covering the meeting for the news media organization, plus proof of identity.
(2) Representatives of the news media are not permitted to attend executive sessions involving deliberations with persons designated to carry on labor negotiations (O.R.S. 192.660(4)). If the executive session is being held for the purpose of conferring with counsel about current litigation or litigation likely to be filed, the City Council shall exclude any member of the news media from attending if the member is a party to the litigation to be discussed or is an employee, agent, or contractor of a news media organization that is a party to the litigation (O.R.S. 192.660(5)).
(3) (a) The City Council may require that a request to attend an executive session be made in writing on a form provided by the City Council.
(b) The form shall require disclosure of the person’s name, and the entity for which he or she is a news reporter, and shall require submission of evidence described in divisions (C)(1)(a), (C)(1)(b), or (C)(1)(c) above. The form shall also include a signature line whereby the person certifies that they are gathering news for a recognized news media organization, that the information given is true and that they agree to comply with O.R.S. 192.660(4).
(4) The City Council may consider any relevant evidence provided or gathered in making its decision as to whether a person shall be recognized as a representative of a recognized news media organization.
(D) Recording devices prohibited. Cameras, tape recorders, and other recording devices shall not be used in executive sessions, except for the official executive session tapes made by the city.
(E) Exclusion based on a direct personal interest. A representative of a news media organization that has a direct personal interest in the subject of the executive session that would frustrate the purpose of the executive session may be barred from attending.
(F) Application to boards and commissions. These policies and procedures shall apply to the City Council and all of its boards and commissions.
(Res. 425, passed 12-18-2012)