Sounds like a good idea. Maybe go with the merge idea by combining Owner and GM role. This person would be the purse strings. The Manager would of course set lineups and bug the owner for more money to sign that big FA
Not sure how the fans would work, but the Local Press idea was a good one.
Under this setup, not my ideas just a synthesis of what I personally thought were very good ideas, you would have the following:
Owner/GM - controls money, fights to get a profit
Manager - sets lineups, and fights owner to get those big named high paid players
Local Press - writing articles for their team. summaries, as well as opinion pieces. highlight minor leagues etc.
Curious as to how this plays out, keep us updated. If it werent for time constraints I would be interested myself. Good luck.