The Fresno Bee

The Fresno Bee
  • The 2005-07-27 front page of
  • The Fresno Bee
TypeThree-times a week newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)The McClatchy Company
PublisherTim Ritchey[1]
EditorChristopher Kirkpatrick
Founded1922; 102 years ago (1922)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters
Circulation41,792 Daily
42,052 Sunday (as of 2020)[2]
ISSN0889-6070
Websitefresnobee.com

The Fresno Bee is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers.

It is currently headquartered in the Bitwise 41 building at 2721 Ventura Street.

History

The Fresno Bee was founded in 1922 by the McClatchy brothers Charles Kenny (C. K.) and Valentine Stuart (V. S.), sons of The Sacramento Bee's second editor James McClatchy.[3] C. K.'s only son Carlos McClatchy became The Fresno Bee's first editor.[4] The two Central Valley newspapers, closely linked by family ownership and editorial philosophy, formed the core of what later grew into The McClatchy Company. In 1932, the McClatchys purchased an older Fresno newspaper, The Republican.[5] The Fresno Republican had been founded in 1876, by Dr. Chester A. Rowell and a group of investors that included inventor and entrepreneur Frank Dusy. In 1932, The Fresno Bee took over the subscription lists of The Fresno Republican and merged the newspapers.

The Fresno Bee began publishing the Spanish newspaper Vida en el Valle in 1990. The paper launched its website in 1996; in November 2005, the paper integrated its online operations into the paper's other departments.[6]

In 2004, The Fresno Bee purchased the Sierra Star in Oakhurst.[7]

Since 2017, the paper's relationship with their hometown representative Devin Nunes has deteriorated. Nunes took issue with several op-eds the paper had published on his handling of Russian interference in the 2016 elections.[8] Nunes responded by airing TV ads attacking the paper[8] and mailing constituents a 40-page glossy pamphlet solely focused on attacking The Bee's reputation.[9]

Originally founded at the historic Fresno Bee Building, it has moved throughout Downtown Fresno over the years. In March 2020, The Fresno Bee moved from their headquarters of nearly 40 years at 1626 E Street to Bitwise 41 at 2721 Ventura St., Fresno, CA 93721 owned by Bitwise Industries. [10]

In July 2024, the newspaper announced it will reduce its print days to three a week: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tim Ritchey returns to Fresno as publisher of The Fresno Bee". The Fresno Bee. 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  2. ^ "McClatchy | Markets". 2022-02-09. Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  3. ^ "The McClatchy Company Newspapers: The Fresno Bee". The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
  4. ^ "About the McClatchy Company: History". The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  5. ^ "McClatchy group buys "Republican" at Fresno". The Los Angeles Times. 1932-03-22. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ DeFoore, Jay (2005-11-04). "'Fresno Bee' Latest to Merge Online, Print Units". Editor & Publisher. Archived from the original on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2005-11-04.
  7. ^ Clugston, Gina (2018-06-30). "Sierra Star Newspaper Closes Oakhurst Office After 60 Years". Sierra News Online. Archived from the original on 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  8. ^ a b Baron, Zach (2018-12-19). "The Fresno Bee and the War on Local News". GQ. Archived from the original on 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  9. ^ Schatz, Bryan (2018-10-03). "Devin Nunes' War on the Media Just Got Even Weirder". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  10. ^ Kieta, Joe (2020-03-02). "New digital day dawns for The Fresno Bee in new downtown location". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  11. ^ Kirkpatrick, Christopher (2024-07-07). "Fresno Bee print days changing as digital transition continues. What to expect". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 2024-07-07.