YourHub a Denver Newspaper Agency initiative that relies on user-generated content and doesn't use a newspaper brand has reportedly grossed $5 million in ad revenue since launch (last year) according to the LostRemote blog.
I moderated a panel at the Newspaper Assn of America conference where Fran Wills of the Denver Newspaper Agency argued that new brands (such as YourHub) were necessary for newspapers to reach new audiences online (read: younger). I was skeptical and argued against that strategy at the show but have become something of a convert to that way of thinking.
Five million dollars is not a lot of ad revenue compared to print newspapers, but it's meaningful. But even more interesting and potentially significant is the fact that there's a print product generated by the site. That reflects the blurring of lines between online and offline that we'll continue to see in both the newspaper and directory worlds (i.e., Verizon auctioning PPCall ads that appear in the print yellow pages).
