It's an odd stance for an alternative newspaper to take.

Using Craigslist -- the free online classified service which has decimated newspapers by helping to destroy their classified advertising revenue -- the Tampa-based alt-newspaper Creative Loafing solicited a group of folks from the community who might be interested in blogging or podcasting for them.

Longtime blog reader Robin "Roblimo" Miller posted a nice video of the Wednesday meetup at Loafing's West Tampa office, where aspiring bloggers were told in no uncertain terms they won't be making much money doing this work. This, at a time when the chain has laid off a significant number of full-time staffers, including most all of its professional arts critics.

I remember the days when the alt-weeklies held up the excesses of the big newspapers in town, pushing for journalism excellence and ethical use of their resources. Now, as the chain prepares to hear on Monday whether the terms of its coming auction will allow the current publisher to bid for continuing ownership, the outlet is supplementing  its ranks with folks blogging for low dough seeking the edgiest topics to build pageviews.

Is that the face of alt-media in the future? A localized version of Gawker or Defamer?

Check out Robin's video; NOTE - you may have to turn off HD to make the video play:

Tampa's Creative Loafing Recruits More Bloggers from roblimo on Vimeo.