The Sacramento Bee

Infobox Newspaper
name =


caption = The July 27, 2005 front page of
"The Sacramento Bee"
type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = 1857 (as "The Daily Bee")
ceased publication =
price =
owners = The McClatchy Company
publisher = Janis Heaphy (until April 13, 2008); Cheryl Dell (as of April 14, 2008)update after|2008|04|14 [ [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003783028 First-Ever 'Sac Bee' Publisher Heaphy to Be Replaced By Dell] , from the "Editor & Publisher" website]
editor = Melanie Sill
circulation = 279,032 Daily
324,613 Sundaycite web | title=2007 Top 100 Daily Newspapers in the U.S. by Circulation |publisher=Burrelles"Luce" |url=http://www.burrellesluce.com/top100/2007_Top_100List.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=2007-05-29 |date=2007-03-31]
headquarters = 2100 Q Street
Sacramento, California 95819
USA
ISSN =
website = [http://sacbee.com/ sacbee.com]

"The Sacramento Bee" is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the "Bee" has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspapers in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S. It is distributed in the upper Sacramento Valley, with a total circulation area that spans about convert|12000|sqmi|km2: south to Stockton, California, north to the Oregon border, east to Reno, Nevada and west to the San Francisco Bay Area. [http://guide.sacbee.com/100/story/3.html History of "The Sacramento Bee"] from the newspaper's website] [ [http://www.mcclatchy.com/146/story/450.html Profile of "The Sacramento Bee"] from The McClatchy Company website]

The "Bee" is the flagship of the nationwide McClatchy Company. Its "Scoopy Bee" mascot [ [http://editor.blogspot.com/2007/03/lessons-from-sacramento.html Lessons from Scoopy Bee] , from Etaoin Shrdlu, the blogspot-based blog for McClatchy editors] , created by Walt Disney in 1943, has been used by all three "Bee" newspapers (Sacramento's, Modesto's, and Fresno's).

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 Union", a newspaper founded in 1851.Fact|date=April 2008 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 RidgeFact|date=April 2008, James McClatchy 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 Republican California State Treasurer Henry Bates.Fact|date=April 2008

21st century

On March 13, 2006, The McClatchy Company announced their agreement to purchase Knight Ridder, 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. [Katharine Q. Seelye and Andrew Ross Sorkin, [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/13knight.html?hp&ex=1142312400&en=4fb5eb597aab2813&ei=5094&partner=homepage "Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion"] , "The New York Times", March 13, 2006.]

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 layoffs; by late August, it cut its workforce by over 55% for the second time. [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003842210]

Recognition

"The Sacramento Bee" has won five Pulitzer Prizes 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 Union during the American Civil War and publicly denounced the Ku Klux Klan), worker's rights (the "Bee" has a strong history of supporting unionization), and environmental protection (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 [http://guide.sacbee.com/105/story/19.html here] .

References

External links

* [http://www.sacbee.com/ "The Sacramento Bee" newspaper website]
* [http://www.sacbee.com/guide "The Sacramento Bee" company website]
* [http://www.capitolalert.com CapitolAlert.com "The Sacramento Bee" political website ]
* [http://www.saclights.com "The Sacramento Bee" local entertainment website]
* [http://www.sacmomsclub.com "The Sacramento Bee" website for moms to connect with each other]
* [http://www.sacpaws.com "The Sacramento Bee" pet lovers website]
* [http://wiki.sactownmedia.com/index.php?title=The_Sacramento_Bee Sacramento Bee information on Sactown Media]
* on the Sacramento Wiki