Communications Director Jim Middaugh rolled the dice last fall and hired a reporter to cover the tri-county regional government. Since September, former Hillsboro Argus reporter Nick Christensen has written dozens of articles that appear on the agency's website.

It's an unusual and, to some, a troubling arrangement. Reporting on government is a big part of the news media's self-appointed watchdog role, and it's suspect for government to cover itself.

But as traditional media shrink and the Web makes anyone a publisher, government agencies, private business and advocacy groups have filled the information gap. Even some journalists think it's better than nothing.

In Metro's case, it comes from an agency that already employs 25 people in its Communications Department and spent $13.2 million from 2006 through 2009 on communications personnel, material and services, according to a 2010 performance audit.

Government agencies routinely e-mail news releases to the media, post items to their websites and use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to publicize their activities, policies or programs, or to promote their accomplishments.

Metro's self-congratulatory releases typically include "quotes" from one or more of the seven elected councilors or Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan. Communications staff acknowledge they write the quotes and submit them to higher-ups for approval. Dissenting or critical views never make an appearance.

But Christensen's position is intended to be different; providing quicker, independent, newspaper-style reporting of Metro's activities.

Middaugh's thinking is this: Metro handles everything from transportation and land-use planning to the Oregon Zoo, has a $427 million annual budget and 750 employees, but has a tough time getting its message in the newspaper and engaging the public.

By hiring a journalist to report its news, Metro joins a trend that apparently began in 2001 when Major League Baseball hired reporters to cover each team.

, who writes about the media for the Los Angeles Times, reported in September 2009 that the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, an L.A. County supervisor and the California trial lawyers group hired journalists to cover themselves.

"Those who once were merely subjects of news coverage increasingly will be looking for ways to write the story themselves," Rainey wrote.

The rise of bloggers and news generated by advocacy, government or business groups coincides with traditional media's "diminishment," says Geneva Overholser, professor and director of the University of

Any contribution of information in the public interest is valuable, Overholser says by e-mail.

"The key is transparency -- being forthright about who pays for the work, what the intentions of the organization are in putting the work forward, who edits it, etc." she says. "I think the public needs to train a keen eye on self-reporting. But I'd rather have it than no reporting."

Middaugh, Metro's communications director, concedes Christensen's reporting is "definitely public relations" rather than journalism, but defends the experiment. In an era of strained budgets and public cynicism, he says, government has an obligation to find innovative ways to provide information.

The regional government's work is important, but it's often mired in process and marked by lengthy meetings that don't make for dramatic video or action-packed paragraphs. The 2010 performance audit concluded Metro's public engagement work was ineffective. Meanwhile, local news media are stretched thin and largely concentrate on bigger stories, not monitoring meetings. (The Oregonian's land use reporter covers broad issues, including Metro.)

A disclaimer at the top of Christensen's articles says they are not subject to approval by Metro officials, although Middaugh reviews them in what he describes as an editing role. The experiment had some early rough patches: A councilor's aide suggested Christensen write and submit a quote for approval, as others on the communications staff do, and was surprised when he objected. In other cases, councilors have declined to speak to him.

Otherwise, Middaugh and Christensen say the arrangement is working well. Online readership is increasing and Christensen's role has clarified with Metro's councilors and staff, they say. The position is temporary and expires at the end of January; Metro is considering whether to continue it.

Christensen says he approaches the job much as he did when he was with the Hillsboro paper: Metro is his beat.

"It's bound to create questions, and that's fair," he says. "The better judge is how many people end up trusting what we're doing."

Middaugh, who has a journalism degree, says the idea of hiring a Metro reporter grew from concern about the public's lack of engagement.

He hoped newspapers, radio and TV stations would use Christensen's stories as their Metro news coverage, but that has not happened.

Metro pays Christensen $26 an hour with no benefits; he works 30 hours a week.

It says something about media cutbacks that nearly 100 people applied for the job, many of them former newspaper or television reporters. Middaugh selected Christensen because he understood the concept and seemed "a little tougher, a little more cynical" than other finalists. "I knew if I brought others on and (their work) turned out to be softballs, I was dead, it wouldn't work," Middaugh says.

But some journalism experts wonder if Metro is blurring the line that separates journalism from public relations. The arrangement raises questions about how and where we get our news. They contend there's no way Christensen can objectively cover Metro.

"This guy knows where he's getting his paycheck from," says Brad Thompson, associate professor and Mass Communication department chair at

in McMinnville. "He's not going to say something time after time that gets him in trouble. Really, I don't think this is ultimately as independent as they would like it to appear to be."

Lisa Weidman, a public relations professor at Linfield, says the disclaimer accompanying Christensen's articles is "either misleading or confusing" and ought to be removed.

"An organization's website is by nature a marketing and public relations tool," she says. "It's an interesting strategy, but they're really crossing some borders."

There's more to come. Metro this month announced it is forming an online public opinion research panel called "Opt In." Metro's intent is to assemble up to 10,000 people who would participate in surveys two or three times a month. They would weigh in on Metro's planning, sustainability and growth issues.

Intending to develop a diverse panel, Metro is working on the project with Northwest Health Foundation, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Portland State University's College of Urban and Public Affairs. Davis, Hibbitts & Midgehall, a Portland public opinion research firm, will host the panel.

The panel can become a two-way exchange where people not only get solid information, but give it, Middaugh says.

"We're sharing information about what we're doing," he says. "People are cynical and don't trust government, so government's got to try new things."

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