Extreme Makeover Continues @ ODN

We read today that the Oshkosh Northwestern wants to dump its national columnists for local ones.

Is this a good thing? A couple of years ago the editors there would have said it was a terrible idea, an abdication of professional standards, a surefire way of polluting political discourse.

But things change, not least the economics of newspapering. A couple of weeks ago Gannett, the parent company of the Northwestern, reported a 2 percent decline in newspaper advertising revenues for the month of October. Classified revenues (the traditional cash cow) at community papers were down even more.

So the Northwestern stands to save a few bucks by switching away from syndicated writers to local ones, who presumably will agree to be paid with a byline and a head shot in the paper.

But I think there is more to the paper's motivation than purely a monetary one, since this move really won't be much of a savings given what syndicated columnists are paid per publication.

I think the paper's editors have come to the conclusion that their future is in citizen journalism, and only partly because of the economic imperatives. According to Alex Hummel:

As the newspaper evolves and becomes a higher-tech Swiss army knife of information, one low-tech thing becomes clearer and clearer.

The Oshkosh Northwestern is ultimately your paper.

Folks running the show just make sure everyone gets a fair say, inside and online.

Is this a good thing?

Well, I think it's a step in the right direction. But where that step will lead is anyone's guess. (A question I have for Alex is what will the paper do if/when its community contributors start actively [OK, more actively] campaigning for office? Are the forums for "community conversation" or electioneering? Should the paper care?)

In the long run, I think local papers like the Northwestern are going to end up being like credit unions, owned by their customers, who have a say in determining costs, revenues and strategic direction.

But as much as I like credit unions, few of them provide as robust a range of products and services as a full-service bank. We need more.

The newspaper has a special role to play beyond encouraging discussion. It needs to be a watchdog and a critic (and sometimes a cheerleader). This distinctive public service role is what gives it its privileged standing in the community.

At the moment, there is a fair amount of local news that is getting broken in other media outlets (mostly the blogosphere but also shows like Eye on Oshkosh) . Someone who wants to be fully informed about what is going on in Oshkosh cannot rely solely on the local paper.

A lot of the changes at the Northwestern are for the better, but I think a price is being paid in terms of a reduction in bread-and-butter news coverage.

To make its transformation to citizen journalism work, the Northwestern needs to find the right balance between the citizen part and the journalism part.