Three Newspapers Sign With U S WEST Dex

U S WEST Dex’s Internet Yellow Pages said it was named the Internet yellow pages for the online versions of three market-leading newspapers.

The alliances are with the Albuquerque Journal, The Arizona Republic, and The Denver Post, and are aimed at creating a revenue opportunity for the newspapers, bolstering their competitive edge with city guides, increasing traffic and delivering more value to their advertisers. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

More than simply links, the agreements involve reciprocal integration of the US WEST Dex brand and content with that of each of the newspapers.

“We are very focused on developing long-term relationships with newspapers, and have formed an internal team of experts to manage relationships and maximize our integration capabilities,” said Chad Roffers, director of business development and e-commerce for U S WEST Dex’s Internet Yellow Pages.

“Our newspaper and U S WEST Dex are capitalizing on what each of us does best and not attempting to individually be all things to all people, further enhancing our competitive position against city guides,” said John Oppedahl, president, publisher and CEO of The Arizona Republic.

At the U S WEST Dex site, integration with the newspapers means that when a user performs a search of any kind involving one of the newspaper’s states, the appropriate newspaper’s logo and connections to specific sections of the newspaper are made available to users, the company stated.

At the individual newspaper’s sites, integration with U S WEST Dex’s site means that no matter where users are, they can conduct a yellow pages’ search, via a co-branded search page, to get business listings information, or connect directly to the U S WEST Dex site.

The U S WEST Dex Internet Yellow Pages serves nationwide yellow and white pages listings, more than 18,000 information pages for local businesses, 1,700 email links and 12,500 Web links to advertisers’ Web pages.