The media landscape has changed in this new digital age and Oakland City Council members say there’s a part of the city’s charter that needs to get with the times. This is where Oakland’s Measure R comes in.
Currently the city’s charter states that the City Council designates the city’s official newspaper for publishing matters of legal and public notice such as election proceedings, awarding of leases and contracts, etc. But for a publication to be an official newspaper it has to be printed and published in Oakland with a minimum 25,000 daily circulation. Newspapers are struggling and the city’s longtime newspaper, the Oakland Tribune, shut down in 2016.
Measure R would amend this rule in the charter and allow the City Council to come up with new methods or procedures for designating the city’s official newspaper. This opens up the possibilities for weeklies and smaller newspapers to earn revenue publishing city notices.
Proponents include City Council Members Rebecca Kaplan and Noel Gallo. So far there is no official opposition to this measure.
If you want the city of Oakland’s charter to be amended so the City Council can update criteria for what should be considered the city’s official newspaper, as media continue to change, vote yes for Measure R.
If you want things to remain the same, vote no.
