YourHub.com

The Rocky Mountain News runs YourHub.com, a local community Web site that covers more than 40 different communities. The Web site began last spring and features stories, events listings, calendars, photos and personal profiles post by folks in the community.

YourHub is a great example of citizen journalism, but it has recently received criticism for political postings.

Howard Rothman of New West, wrote a piece about YourHub allowing politicians using the Web site to promote their campaigns or attack opponents.

Read the story.

John Temple, editor of the Rocky, posted a reply on Romenesko's Web site defending the format of YourHub.

One of the tricky points of the site is that although folks have to register, just about anyone can post to the site. There's not a lot of information provided about the source. You can check out people's biography information, but who really does that?

It's not just politicians taking advantage of the loose policies of the Web site. Public relation firms, travel agencies and other companies offering services have used the site to promote their clients business. Meanwhile, budget-strapped non-profit organizations have embraced the forum as well.

But something is missing from the site: community news. Most of the content on the site seems promotional. There's not a lot debate about community issues.

While YourHub is a great step in promoting citizen journalism, there is still a ways to go. Establishing standards about content is a needed step.