The Sacramento Bee facts for kids
Front page of The Sacramento Bee,
April 29, 2024 |
|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | The McClatchy Company |
| Founded | 1857 (as The Daily Bee) |
| Headquarters | 1601 Alhambra Boulevard, Suite 100 Sacramento, California 95816 USA |
| Circulation | 90,244 Daily 142,589 Sunday (as of 2020) |
| ISSN | 0890-5738 |
| OCLC number | 37706143 |
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California. It has been around since 1857. The Bee is the biggest newspaper in Sacramento. It is also one of the largest newspapers in California and the United States.
The newspaper is delivered across a huge area. This includes places like Stockton, California to the south and even up to the Oregon border. It also reaches east to Reno, Nevada and west towards the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Bee is a main newspaper for a company called The McClatchy Company. It has a fun mascot named "Scoopy Bee." This mascot was created by Walt Disney in 1943! Scoopy Bee is used by all three "Bee" newspapers. These are in Sacramento, Modesto, and Fresno.
Contents
The Bee's Journey: A Look Back
The first newspaper was called The Daily Bee. It came out on February 3, 1857. The paper proudly said it wanted to be "independent" and "permanent." At that time, The Bee had a rival newspaper. This was The Sacramento Union, which started in 1851.
The Bee quickly became more popular than the Union. The Union newspaper closed in 1994. This made The Sacramento Bee the longest-running newspaper in the city's history.
The first editor of The Sacramento Bee was John Rollin Ridge. But James McClatchy took over as editor very quickly.
Soon after it started, The Bee found out about a big state problem. This led to the removal of California State Treasurer Henry Bates. In 1925, The Bee also took over another newspaper, the Sacramento Star.
The Bee in the 2000s
On March 13, 2006, The McClatchy Company bought another large newspaper group. This group was called Knight Ridder. This purchase meant McClatchy owned 32 daily newspapers. These papers were in 29 different cities.
On February 3, 2007, The Sacramento Bee turned 150 years old! To celebrate, they included a copy of their very first newspaper issue. The next day, they added a special section. It was 120 pages long and told the whole story of the newspaper. In 2008, The Sacramento Bee also updated its design.
In 2020, The Bee announced a big change. It would move out of its longtime office and printing building. This building was in Midtown Sacramento and they had been there since 1952. The newspaper needed to save money. More people were reading news online. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic meant many staff worked from home.
The newspaper started being printed in Fremont, California. This is near the San Francisco Chronicle printing plant. In the spring of 2021, The Bee announced its new office location. It moved to a business park called the Cannery. This used to be a large food canning factory.
Awards and Achievements
The Sacramento Bee has won six Pulitzer Prizes. This is a very famous award for journalism. The newspaper has also won many other awards.
It has been recognized for its work helping the public. For example, The Bee has often spoken up for free speech. It has also pointed out problems in government. The newspaper has supported fighting against racism. It stood by the Union during the American Civil War. It also spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan.
The Bee has a history of supporting workers' rights. It has also worked to protect the environment. This includes leading tree-planting efforts. It also fought against harm to nature in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Notable People Who Worked at The Bee
Many talented people have worked at The Sacramento Bee. Here are a few:
- Deborah Blum – a science writer
- Renée C. Byer – a photojournalist
- Gil Duran – an editor who used to be a press secretary for California governor Jerry Brown
- Jack Ohman – a cartoonist
- Nick Peters – a writer who focused on baseball
- Paul Avery – a journalist who reported on the Zodiac killer
- Pete Dexter – a former writer, novelist, and screenwriter
- Nancy Weaver Teichert – a former reporter
