News content for sale to highest bidder

Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 19, 2009 at 3:55 PM

Alternative newspaper Creative Loafing, a six-branch newspaper chain, is launching an idea that will earn it a lot of publicity while helping a good cause, reports The Saint Petersburg Times' TampaBay.com. To raise money for the charity The Children's Home, the Tampa version of Creative Loafing will auction off content in its 20 January edition.

The online auction, which began yesterday morning, puts such content as the main cover image, a local band profile, the chance to participate in an interview with a politician conducted by political editor Mitch Perry, and a five-star review from restaurant critic Brian Ries up for sale to the highest bidder.

The auction also contains more traditional items such as a record store shopping spree and acting classes.

Creative Loafing is no stranger to publicity stunts. Its Charlotte, North Carolina branch garnered heaps of attention for its 24-hour Blog-o-thon last year.

The auction may be for a good cause (and a good laugh) but, as TampaBay.com points out, the potential for trouble is large. What happens if the highest bidder wants to place controversial or hateful things in his article? Asks the article, "what if a group of white supremacists want to buy the cover? Or that guy who swears Stephen King helped kill John Lennon? Can Creative Loafing say no if the image suggested isn't definitively offensive?"

According to editor David Warner, "This is our way of saying 'This is not how we do business.' Just this once, you'll see what you get if our content actually is for sale. It's ironic, unchartered territory." Territory that is sure to win the weekly loads of free publicity.

The paper, whose parent company is still recovering from filing bankruptcy in September 2008, got the idea for the auction from the Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger, which holds an annual auction in the same spirit.

The opening bids are fairly low (the cover photo starts at $100) so get bidding now. The auction runs into December.

Source: TampaBay.com