This Just In, From The Guy Next Door

""Backfence sees the de-professionalization of news as a key to its success," says New York University's Jay Rosen on his PressThink site. "The pros gave away the 'news of your neighbors' franchise -- or never had it.""

"A housewife or hardware store owner can have something to contribute, that's important to them, that would be way under the radar of what we as journalists think is important,"

...thousands of people in places like McLean and Reston can become bloggers, or post responses to other bloggers' columns, or contribute photos and information about their particular subcultures. Backfence would have a five-person staff -- plus free classifieds, Yellow Pages-style listings and a local search function -- but the content would be provided by the users. The goal: Build it and they will post.

They are beginning to peddle the idea almost door-to-door, pitching Backfence to PTA groups and church organizations, and may sponsor a Little League team.

Potential investors have been wary, waiting to see if the Virginia experiment can generate revenue. The Bakersfield site's editor says it is nearly breaking even from ads that also run in a companion print edition. The site currently has a feature on local cheerleaders, a man who wrote 75 self-help books and a first-grader who won an essay contest, along with crime logs, home sales, church news and a holiday lights photo contest. Other companies, including Advance Publications, are planning town blogs, which could either be the Next Big Thing or a faddish bubble like pets.com.