From AP via globeandmail.com:

The Chicago Tribune has launched a community journalism Web site encouraging readers in nine suburbs to post their own articles, photos and blogs.

“This started with the question of how can we make the paper more relevant to readers who continue to live further and further away from the center city,” said Ted Biedron, president of the Tribune division that designed the site.

The Web site www.triblocal.com was announced in Thursday's edition of the newspaper.

Triblocal will have a staff of four journalists, but the majority of the site's content will be written by readers.

Biedron said sites like News Corp.'s MySpace.com have persuaded publishers that there is value in allowing readers to publish their own content.