Change in Oregonian's obituary policy?

Image by georgeogoodman via FlickrIs the Oregonian downsizing the Obits page just like everything else? I noticed this in Monday and Tuesday's Oregonian (01/07/09):

To Our Readers: The Oregonian's free obituaries will have a new, streamlined format starting later this month.
As part of that change, a new Community Connections Team will now take submissions. We also offer paid obituaries with expanded personal information and photos.

It continues

We remain dedicated to offering free obituaries, something many newspapers have abandoned. And we hope to continue to make the process easy, whether you opt for the unpaid version or buy the expanded one.

They have a link that takes you to their obit submission page. As far as I can see there's no mention of this "streamlined" format anywhere on that page.

This sounds like a slightly veiled threat: "buy an obituary or we'll start charging everyone for obits." And, it might strike hardest: in the older population, people who might not be used to reading their news online.