The ''Los Angeles Downtown News'' is a free weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, serving the

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

area. The newspaper focuses on general news with an emphasis on real estate and business along with coverage of the arts scene. It also has occasional historical features by Jay Berman and features in its news coverage photos by Gary Leonard (plus the weekly feature "Take My Picture Gary Leonard" that highlights notable events and local figures cultural and political). Coverage area is roughly bounded by the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

to the north and east (excluding Echo Park), the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and Exposition Park to the south and

City West City West (formerly known as ''Neuer Westen'' ("New West") or ''Zooviertel'' ("Zoo Quarter")) is an area in the western part of central Berlin. It is one of Berlin's main commercial areas, and was the commercial centre of former West Berlin when ...

to the west. Its news stories frequently scoop the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' and other media. The paper has also won dozens of journalism and industry awards. The paper's masthead in 2001 briefly included entertainment blogger and former Associated Press correspondent

Nikki Finke Nikki Jean Finke (December 16, 1953 – October 9, 2022) was an American blogger, journalist, publisher, and writer. She was a consultant to Penske Business Media LLC and senior editorial contributor for PBM run by media owner Jay Penske. She ...

, who was hired as executive editor.

Coverage area and history

From a 2001 ''Los Angeles Times'' story about the paper: ''"(Founder and editor Sue) Laris was a public school teacher and her then-husband Jim Laris worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1972 when they decided to start their own community newspaper. They targeted downtown because there weren't any other weeklies there at the time. When the couple divorced in 1979, Laris bought her husband's share of the business. Over the years, the newspaper's folksy approach and loyal advertisers sustained it while others succumbed to diminishing readership and the high cost of newsprint. Today, the Downtown News operates on a $1.7 million annual budget."'' It publishes more than 40,000 copies every Monday, is audited by VAC. and distributed via newsracks in

, Wilshire Center, Pasadena,

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and

Larchmont Village Larchmont is a half-square-mile neighborhood in the central region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has three schools and one small park. It has been the site of early and recent motion picture shoots. Geography According to the Great ...

. On September 30, 2016, Sue Laris announced online the Los Angeles Downtown News, after 44 years, is for sale. It was sold to Southland Publishing in 2017. In August 2019,

Times Media Group (Arizona) Times Media Group is an American media company based in the state of Arizona. Its publications include: ''85085 Magazine'', ''85086 Magazine'', ''Ahwatukee Foothills News'', ''College Times Magazine'', ''The Entertainer! Magazine'', '' East Vall ...

acquired the parent company of Los Angeles Downtown News, Southland Publishing, which was focused on several markets in Southern California. The acquisition included eight print publications and associated digital properties. The five newspapers acquired at that time included ''LA Downtown News'' ''Ventura County Reporter'', ''The Argonaut'' (

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

), ''Pasadena Weekly'', and ''San Diego CityBeat''. The three magazines acquired included ''Ventana Monthly'', ''Playa Vista Direct'' and ''Arroyo Magazine''. The acquisition is notable as it marks Times Media Group’s sizable expansion of its portfolio of publications and a move into the California market.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official siteDowntown MarketplaceDowntown LA Scene
Downtown News Independent newspapers published in the United States Newspapers established in 1972 1972 establishments in California Weekly newspapers published in California