The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in
Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since its creation in 1857, the
Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S. It is distributed in the upper
Sacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
, with a total circulation area that spans about : south to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, north to the
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
border, east to
Reno, NevadaReno is a city in and the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2008, its population was estimated at 217,016, making it the fourth-largest city in the state after Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, and the largest outside of...
and west to the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
.
The
Bee is the flagship of the nationwide McClatchy Company.
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in
Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since its creation in 1857, the
Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S. It is distributed in the upper
Sacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
, with a total circulation area that spans about : south to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, north to the
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
border, east to
Reno, NevadaReno is a city in and the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2008, its population was estimated at 217,016, making it the fourth-largest city in the state after Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, and the largest outside of...
and west to the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
.
The
Bee is the flagship of the nationwide McClatchy Company. Its "Scoopy Bee" mascot, created by
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
in 1943, has been used by all three
Bee newspapers (Sacramento, Modesto, and
FresnoThe Fresno Bee is the daily newspaper serving Fresno, California and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers....
).
History
Under the name
The Daily Bee, the first issue of the newspaper was published on February 3, 1857, proudly boasting that "the object of [the
Sacramento Bee] is not only independence, but permanence." At this time, the
Bee was in competition with
The Sacramento UnionThe Sacramento Union daily newspaper was a newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with The Sacramento Bee, which was founded just six years...
, a newspaper founded in 1851. Although the
Bee soon surpassed the
Union in popularity, the
Union survived until its closing in 1994, leaving the
Sacramento Bee to be the longest running newspaper in Sacramento's history.
Although the first editor of
The Sacramento Bee was Rollin Ridge,
James McClatchyJames McClatchy was an American newspaper editor.Although he is thought of as founder of The Sacramento Bee, which grew into The McClatchy Company, James McClatchy was actually the newspaper's second editor, taking over just days after the newspaper began publication as The Daily Bee in February...
took over the position by the end of the first week.
Also within a week of its creation, the
Bee uncovered a state scandal which led to the impeachment of
Know NothingThe Know Nothing movement was a nativist American political movement of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to U.S. values and controlled by the Pope in Rome...
California State TreasurerThe California State Treasurer is responsible for the state's investment and finance. The post has more narrow responsibilities and authority than the California State Controller...
Henry BatesHenry Bates of Shasta County, California was a politician affiliated with the American Party . He served as California State Treasurer, 1856-1857. Prior to that, he was a member of the California State Assembly from the 13th district, 1855-1856...
.
21st century
On March 13, 2006, The McClatchy Company announced their agreement to purchase
Knight RidderKnight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers....
, the United States' second largest chain of daily newspapers. The purchase price of $4.5 billion in cash and stock will give McClatchy thirty-two daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3.3 million.
On February 3, 2007 the paper celebrated its 150th anniversary. In every newspaper they included a copy of the original paper. On February 4, 2007 they included a 120-page section about their history from their founding to today.
On July 29, 2008, the paper changed its format. However, the Bee and other McClatchy-owned papers continued to hemorrhage money, going into a tailspin of
layoffLayoff is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as the decision that certain positions are no longer necessary or a business slow-down or interruption in work...
s; by late August, it cut its workforce by over 55% for the second time.
On May 21, 2009, the newspaper published an editoral that highly criticized Californians for voting against most of the
ballot propositionsA California ballot proposition is a method of amending California law through the initiative and referendum process....
in a
special electionThe California state special elections, 2009 were held on May 19, 2009 throughout the state of California. The elections were authorized by the State Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a part of a budget signed into law on February 19, 2009...
. After numerous negative comments were posted by readers, the editorial was taken off the website and replaced with a message that said it was posted in error.
Recognition
The Sacramento Bee has won five
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
s in its history. It has won numerous other awards, including many for its progressive public service campaigns promoting free speech (the
Bee often criticized government policy, and uncovered many scandals hurting Californians), anti-racism (the
Bee supported the
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
and publicly denounced the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan , informally known as The Klan, is the name of several past and present hate group organizations in the United States whose avowed purpose was to protect the rights of and further the interests of white Americans by violence and intimidation. The first such organizations originated in...
), worker's rights (the
Bee has a strong history of supporting
unionizationA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
), and
environmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organisational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans....
(leading numerous tree-planting campaigns and fighting against environmental destruction in the Sierra Nevada). A full list of recent major awards won by the
Bee can be found
here.
External links