Meet Keri Freeman | Publisher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keri Freeman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keri, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

What do they say? If you do something you love, it’s not work. I am an artist, writer, graphic designer, and filmmaker at heart. Publishing a newspaper just happened to be the one profession that utilized all of my natural talents.

Downtown Weekly was started as Gallery Row Art Walk News in 2009, a monthly newsprint acting as an unofficial program for the 25,000-person Downtown Art Walk Event event, held the 2nd Thursday of each month. As the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk grew, a need for information about the artists and galleries, food courts, and art park locations grew with it.

As artists, watching and contributing to an event that helped grow and rejuvenate our city was a moment in time never to be forgotten.

However, as the crowds became more and more unmanageable, leading to the accidental death of baby Alejandro, more and more galleries lost their leases, so in an attempt to keep the paper going, I began reaching out to other types of businesses in town, organically morphing the tiny mag into the Downtown Weekly.

Now reaching 3.7 million people a year, our vivid colors and uplifting, informative articles keep LA informed, add an artistic touch, and most importantly, add diversity to our town’s news, when it comes to hospitality, lifestyle and events.

Running a newspaper in a major metropolis is no child’s play; only an artist used to long hours and little pay could appreciate reaping the rewards which mainly consist of exposure for ourselves and our subjects.

What should our readers know about your business?

We’re leading the way with affordable advertising in the downtown area. As local trailblazers, we’ve gotten our town out of ruts on many occasions. When COVID hit and no one could eat indoors, we were the first to produce articles and promo campaigns suggesting our community utilize takeout and Al Fresco. We also work to sway popular opinion. Gotta make sure people love DTLA as much as we do. And that’s not easy.

For years, we’ve offered ways for local businesses that couldn’t afford the pricy publicists to purchase affordable plans from our online store that provide them with the same type of media hype. What was once seen as a media taboo has become a sustainable model for our news outlet and for other local news outlets as well.

It means no longer allowing others to believe they weren’t good enough to make the news, especially when so many people have no idea how news outlets actually go about picking their editorials; it’s become more about shining a light on people and their accomplishments and bringing them exposure, happiness, and, of course, a boost in visitors and an increase in revenue. 

And then there’s reporting on the social issues and everyday mayhem of DTLA. It takes total dedication. It’s an 18-hour job, and there’s never a vacation, just like there’s never a dull moment in downtown Los Angeles.

For anybody who can handle it, I recommend it because there’s nothing like seeing someone happy because they’re reading your words or looking at that picture of them and knowing—you nailed it.

They cry, I cry… They framed the issues… I cry sometimes, and even a sincere thank-you will bring me to tears many times.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Any place high above the city is where you’ll find me. Just add drinks, a great chef, and a view. Haha, expect me!

If I had our way, we’d start with breakfast at the Delphi Hotel; they’ve got great pancakes. Prank for happy hour, they’ve got great drinks and surprisingly one of the tastiest Salmon plates in town… wait… it’s all about rooftops in the DT… If I had my way I’d just spread my wings and we’d glide from 71 Above after dinner and make my way down roof top to roof top. Sware, you’ll never get tired of a downtown view.

For nighttime adventure. Any one of our dance floors work. From the Bar 107 (RIP) to newbie Level 8. Our electric venues with their creative backdrops, themes and wiley dis and bartenders, have always been able to mix a perfect blend of cocktails, music, dance and new relationships.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Our creation owes largely in part to Sue Landis, who was the publisher of the Downtown News in a time when nobody thought downtown had a future. She was out there, telling our stories.

Although some people may think that because we are competitive newspapers, we should be competitive in real life or that they should pick a side, in reality, she is our role model; she is the one who allowed us to dream that this could be possible, and because of her, Downtown LA now has two solid newspapers.

The only difference is that we cater more to the arts, nightlife, and entertainment and keep a solid ethnic mix to represent the true diversity of downtown rather than solely focusing on the town’s most affluent or developer interests.

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