"To Save Themselves, US Newspapers Put Readers to Work"

I don't know how I feel about this article, about the idea of normal citizens (as in, non-journalists) being able to submit, and be published by regular old newspapers. A part of me is all for it -- I like the idea of getting more people to write things down, to tell their stories, and to get excited about sharing them with the world... even if they might not meet standard journalistic conventions. However, the fact that newspapers are relying on this, relying on other people to do their job for them, and perhaps even taking advantage of people's interest to share -- that I have a problem with.