The Port of Morrow Board of Commissioners has been struggling with a prickly issue: Can the media attend executive sessions remotely?

Oregon’s public meeting laws allows members of the media to attend executive sessions, those parts of public meetings that are held behind closed doors. The media can’t report on what was said in executive session. Media representatives are there to ensure government officials aren’t taking actions behind closed doors that are not allowed.

When COVID was disrupting everything, the state made some good changes requiring public meetings to be available online. It’s now a requirement that people can access most meetings of government remotely.

But the issue, as our sister paper The Hermiston Herald reported, is: How does a government body know who else is in the room when a reporter is accessing a meeting remotely? They don’t.

Reporters at The Bulletin and members of the editorial board have run into this issue. For instance, the Deschutes Public Library Board has allowed members of The Bulletin to attend executive sessions remotely. So have other local government bodies in the past.

Most government bodies and news organizations can work this issue out with some assurances and promises. Will legislators clarify the legal question?