Not only that. That's already happening at the Spokesman-Review! It's interesting not because it's a blog, but because they have set very narrow mandates for these channels: Ken Paulman's Daily Briefing on the newsroom. The Q&A with the editors. The 5 reader-ombudsmen.
“In my experience it is easier to teach a blogger to be a good journalist than it is to teach a journalist to be a good blogger,” Sands said, whose paper publishes 23 active online-only columns. “Bloggers understand the social network.”
I find this very hard to believe. I emailed Ken for some justification: how many has he tried to teach as both? If blogging is a folk movement which anyone can pick up-- why would it be so so hard for journalists to pick it up? Arianna Huffington and her post, Josh Marshall and his cafe, etc.