Can redundant journalists create the new business model which will save local news?

That is the intriguing question being asked by paidContent:UK editor Robert Andrews who writes:"The local news business may have laid off 500 in three months, but maybe some of those out-of-work reporters will help define the new business mode that’s so badly needed."
He looks at Everything Epping Forest, started by ex-editor David Jackman and WhiteHaven.org.uk, started by ex-news editor Dave Siddall as well as local news sites set-up in the US.
Robert Andrews adds:"The proprietors that saw their staff walk out the door should note their ex staffers’ new enterprises and could yet be best served by bringing them in to the fold through content syndication relationships. It’s a third-way model for local news."
Robert's post reminded me of those enterprising journalists like Paul Morgan, Tony Boullemier, Frank Branston and Lionel Pickering who started the free newspaper revolution in the 1980s. They ended up selling out to the established publishers for millions and became millionaires. It can be done.