Is running a contest cheating?

We’re talking about good practices in online video in the current panel here at the BBS, and the panel is giving a segment on how useful a tool contests are for generating creative content, and I was reminded of my friend Ben, who doesn’t like contests.

And I can’t help but think he has something valid to say. It’s like reality TV for every other inudstry - running a contest is like outsourcing the work normally done by professionals to a lucky amateur.

Really cool for the business running the contents, and cool for the amateurs(especially in anything artistic, like photography, video, or design, where you have good people and you have people that get lucky once every couple of years), but it really hurts someone who makes a living by producing consistently professional work.

On the other hand, contests are cool. Not sure where I sit on this fence.