news on the cheap?

I've been thinking lately that local news could be done a bit differently. Instead of relying on the news teams couldn't we have some citizen journalists do their own thing? I think WEVV would be prime for this because they don't have any local news right now. How expensive would it be to accept user created content for a half hour a day show on local happenings? Think of the publicity this would get early on. WKRN-TV in Nashville is making the switch. Sure there would be some rough edges and a little editing involved, but I think the cost/benefit would be worth the risk. Maybe start out with a once a week show and then move that to a daily show based on the amount of participation.