I just got off a conference call with the people down in LA who run Metblogs. Things are about to really change around here for everyone at Seattle Metblogs. People will be coming and going, deals will be made, it’s all pretty crazy. But follow along; I think you’ll like the changes.

First off, our corporate masters, flush with Web 2.0 venture capital, have decided to spend some cash — they’ll announce tomorrow that they will be buying Index Newspapers LLC, the parent company of both the Stranger and the Portland Mercury. The plan is to phase out the print versions of both papers and move completely into the online space. In doing so, they’re abandoning the paper weekly market to the Seattle Weekly and Williamette Week, but since print journalism will be dead in a few more years anyway it’s like handing them the keys to a sinking yacht. This current edition of the Stranger will be the last in print. Seattle Metblogs will basically merge with the Slog, under the working title of “Seattle Metroslog.”

Dan Savage won’t be coming over, though, since he’s no longer editing The Stranger. Instead, later this year Savage Love will officially be spun off as a subscription-only sex advice and fetish porn website. The syndicated column will continue, but Dan will finally be unleashed to say and do whatever he wants — and that includes producing his own celebrity-based gay porn. On the conference call today he was positively giddy about it, saying he wanted to find a Ken Hutcherson lookalike for his first shoot. So, all the best to him and that 25% profit sharing clause in his contract. Meanwhile, our Josh is giving up on his epidemiological research career to become the new editor of the Metroslog.

The Metroslog will feature some staff carryover from the previous sites, but Erica Barnett apparently resigned in tears, saying she could never work with us because we annoy her. That’s too bad, but I’m sure her new position as a Seattle Times columnist will suit her personality better.

Oh, I forgot to mention — Line Out will be spun off as well, under a new name: Seattle Rocketblog. Yup, the Seattle Rocket is coming back in web form after all these years, and it will feature content from Three Imaginary Girls as well as tourblogging from some of Seattle’s best bands. And those old Rocket classifieds looking for new bandmates? They’re coming back too — completely free, and better than Craigslist.

What I’m looking forward to is the simpatico of bringing together two great sets of writers under one aegis. For instance, Charles Mudede and I will be doing a weekly debate post in which we take on the issues of the day, like the Commentators on KOMO, only intelligent and better-looking on radio. I’m also looking forward to Aaron O and Josh Feit teaming up on an ongoing series about the history and future of the Viaduct. What I’ve seen so far has me thinking they should give out Pulitzers to bloggers.

For the rest of the story, stay tuned. Everything you liked about Metblogs and everything you liked about The Stranger will finally come together in the bigger, better Metroslog. We expect that together we will prevail over our esteemed competition over at Crosscut, especially since it’s mostly older guys writing about their lumbago or doing a 2700-part series about the 520 bridge. Boring. Just

(And oh, there might be an even bigger announcement tomorrow as well. I can’t divulge much, but you know how there’s that paper with the globe on it? Yeah, they might be joining us too, though they’re waiting for this Asian VC firm to cough up the money. I think they’re called Lirpa Capital Investment. Or is it Loof Capital Investment?)