Just thinking aloud this morning, but I'm wondering how much newspapers could cut from their operations budget if they replaced say 1/3 of their print content with articles from existing bloggers in their community.  It could be done in a number of ways — either as a separate section or by cleverly integrating blog content into existing sections (i.e. bloggers specifically for the Sports section, Metro-State, Business/Tech, etc.)

I don't like suggesting that anyone should lose their jobs, but it's clear that newspapers can source at least some content for a fraction of the cost of what they are paying today.  I think a hybrid model like this makes a lot of sense — it's a win-win:

- Bloggers get exposure & more audience for their content, which is written out of passion, business necessity, and/or personal interest,

- Newspapers could get reprint rights for this content for a fraction of the cost of the support staff.  They could focus on editorial functions — i.e. sifting through the available content for a given day & choosing what they think should be in print.

Maybe there is a business opportunity here?  Connecting bloggers to newspapers that will inevitably look to save money on operations/content?