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After five years as the essential online source for Downtown Los Angeles’ news and information, blogdowntown.com announces plans to roll out a weekly print edition of the “go-to site” for all things downtown Los Angeles. On the morning of Thursday, August 5, 2010, blogdowntown Weekly will hit the stands for the first time, packed with a comprehensive events calendar and features covering nightlife, culture, food, fashion, news and entertainment specific to the neighborhood.
“We have made Downtown a destination not only for business, but for living and playing. blogdowntown Weekly will highlight all the extraordinary restaurants, bars, cultural attractions, and neighborhoods that Downtown offers,” said Carol Schatz, President and CEO of the Central City Association.
In an era when publications are folding or going 100% digital, blogdowntown Weekly joins the beginning of a new era where successful blogs are augmenting their digital coverage with material mediums. Founder and publisher Eric Richardson states that “while many reports talk about the death of print, we believe that there is still something uniquely useful about picking up a paper. People respond to having something tangible in their hands whether it’s while having coffee or keeping a handy events guide close by.”
blogdowntown Weekly will focus heavily on calendar and lifestyle content while blogdowntown.com will continue to break news and be a resource seven days a week. 25,000 tabloid-size, full color papers will be available in hotels, residential buildings, coffee shops and businesses throughout the community every Thursday morning, just in time to help downtowners and visitors plan their weekend. Additionally, for the over 12,000 people that invade the Historic Core for the Downtown Art Walk each month, The Art Walk Special Issue will feature a gallery guide and focus on targeting non downtown residents.
"Downtown Los Angeles is an incredibly vibrant place and blogdowntown has become one of the go-to resources for news, information and things to do here," said Councilmember Jose Huizar, initiator of the Bringing Back Broadway revitalization effort. "blogdowntown's expansion to printed coverage will make that information even more accessible to an ever-growing and engaged Downtown audience."
Richardson and creative director Ed Fuentes have been tossing the idea of doing a print piece for years. It wasn’t until a serious discussion about turning the website into a sustainable business, and a local developer’s idea for a community paper, that they both agreed there was a void in the market that only a print paper could fill. “The more I met with people and the more I put numbers together, the more it really clicked that this project wasn’t just a cool idea for the community, but that it was also something that had a very realistic business model behind it,” said Richardson. The print edition will complement the other existing weeklies and dailies thus closing the loop, allowing residents and visitors alike to have full coverage in the vivacious City of Los Angeles.
"There is so much happening across Downtown these days that it can be hard to keep track of it all," says Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes much of Downtown. "blogdowntown Weekly will be a great resource to help people make the most of what the neighborhood has to offer."
For the most up to date information, including digital versions of the printed weekly visit blogdowntown.com/.
Green and Efficient
While using paper is unavoidable, blogdowntown Weekly will be spearheading environmentally responsible practices. The printing house is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for its green practices, including low emissions, soy-based inks and the recycling of waste paper. blogdowntown Weekly will continue that push by collecting all leftover papers and depositing them in a recycling program. Furthermore, modern print and layout technology allows the publication to integrate the workflow for a print product into the systems already in use to produce the website; putting less manpower into production and more into content.
About blogdowtown and blogdowtown Weekly
Since January of 2005, blogdowntown.com has become a dependable source of information for the local residents of downtown Los Angeles. Founded by Eric Richardson and supported by a team of innovative journalists, both blogdowntown.com and blogdowntown Weekly will provide residents and visitors a comprehensive, vibrant source of news, culture and events in downtown Los Angeles.
As of July 19, 2010, blogdowntown.com has run 3,661 stories and community members have contributed 20,679 comments. The site today receives approximately 30,000 unique readers monthly and blogdowntown Weekly will circulate 25,000 papers throughout downtown Los Angeles every Thursday.
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