A message from OPB President and CEO Steve Bass:
Once in a while, OPB reports a story that involves a member of its board of directors. This occurred recently with the release of the National Women’s Soccer League report, which referenced former president of business for the Portland Timbers and Thorns, Mike Golub. He was a member of the OPB board of directors until his resignation on Friday, October 7.
OPB’s mission is to provide you with news and information that you can trust. Trust requires transparency as well as disclosure of conflicts of interest.
If OPB’s journalism relates to a member of our board of directors or an organization in which they play a leadership role, we disclose the relationship. In our coverage of the NWSL report, we disclosed on each story that Mr. Golub was a member of the OPB board of directors.
These disclosures raised questions among some OPB members and others. Who serves on the OPB board of directors? What policies are in place to protect the independence of OPB’s journalism? What organizational values does OPB have?
OPB is an independent non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. Our board consists of approximately twenty individuals from around Oregon and Southwest Washington who volunteer their time. They provide oversight of OPB’s mission, finances, and policies. You can see a list of OPB’s board of directors here.
The OPB board of directors is a governing body. Members of the board of directors are not involved in the day-to-day management of the organization. They oversee our financial affairs, including approving our annual budget and overseeing an annual audit. They approve our editorial policy, which delegates all editorial and programming decisions to management.
Board members have no role individually or collectively in determining what news OPB covers, the topics or guests on any program, or what programs we broadcast. Our board of directors is committed to protecting OPB’s journalism from undue influence to ensure that we fulfill our public service mission.
Many people value OPB’s impartiality in our news coverage. OPB does not have an editorial board that expresses views on issues of public importance. Since we don’t endorse political candidates or ballot measures (nor accept any political advertising), you don’t have to wonder if politically powerful or moneyed interests are influencing our coverage to serve their own ends.
While we are steadfastly impartial in our reporting, there are some issues where taking a clear stand based on our principles, ethics and values is necessary.
We’ve expressed our commitment to standing firm against racism and for the First Amendment. In light of recent events, I also want to make it clear that we also stand firmly against sexism and misogyny in all its forms. OPB’s own employment policies state this clearly – and these are values that apply to all OPB stakeholders – board, staff, volunteers and others.
Thank you to those who reached out to us with questions or concerns about our values and policies. Your input helps OPB stay true to our values and fulfill our important public service mission.