Dave Winer opines on ways for the news biz to get moving. One key:
Where ever you see a barrier that says that only a professional can do this job, don't just get rid of the rule, proactively break it. Make the pros compete on the same playing field as the amateurs. The time is running short to do this, soon the professional news organizations won't have anything of value to the amateurs nor will there be many pros left to compete. 
There are more, some good ideas, too. When I see the above though, then look at the list of ams and pros I work with every day, it’s pretty clear to me that the big mixing has already occurred, with people like Mike Arrington now clearly in the “pro” category even if he started as an “am” and people like Todd Bishop moving from one “pro” outlet to another that looks suspiciously pro.
I think about it like this: anyone who provides great, interesting content that is consistently accurate and reaches specific audiences goes in the pro category, and then we just need to figure out how people will make money on it… :)