The Fresno Bee
Three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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| Type | Three-times a week newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | The McClatchy Company |
| Publisher | Tim Ritchey[1] |
| Editor | Christopher Kirkpatrick |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters |
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| Circulation | 41,792 Daily 42,052 Sunday (as of 2020)[2] |
| ISSN | 0889-6070 |
| Website | fresnobee |
History
On September 23, 1876, the first edition of The Fresno Republican was published. Its first editor was E.E. Curtis.[3][4] One of the paper's founders was Dr. Chester A. Rowell,[5] and its original group of investors included inventor and entrepreneur Frank Dusy. [6]
In May 1879, S.A. Miller bought the paper from Rowell.[7] In May 1885, R.F. Brewington and named John W. Short editor.[8] In January 1886, Short and J.W. Shanklin purchased the Republican.[9] A year later the two launched a daily edition.[10][11]
In April 1890, T.C. Judkins became the owner.[12] In January 1892, Short was named editor again.[13] In June 1898, Short retired from the paper after he was appointed as the city's postmaster. Rowell succeeded him as editor and manager.[14][15] In November 1919, Short died.[16][17]
In June 1915, George A. Osborne and Chase E. Osborne Jr., sons of former Michigan governor Chase Osborn, bought the Fresno Herald.[18] In October 1920, Rowell sold the Republican for $1 million to the Osbornes, who merged it with the Herald.[19]
On October 12, 1922, the first issue of The Fresno Bee was published by The McClatchy Company, owner of The Sacramento Bee. Carlos McClatchy was the paper's first editor.[20] In March 1932, the McClatchys purchased The Republican from the Osbornes and merged it into the Bee.[21][22]
In August 1990, the Bee launched a Spanish-English language paper called Vida en el Valle.[23] In 1996, the paper launched a website and fully integrated its digital team into the newsroom nine years later.[24] In 2004, McClatchy purchased the Sierra Star in Oakhurst. In June 2018, the Star was consolidated into the Bee.[25]
The Bee was originally housed at the Fresno Bee Building, but moved throughout downtown Fresno over the decades. In March 2020, the paper relocated its headquarters to Bitwise 41, owned by Bitwise Industries.[26] In July 2024, the Bee announced it will reduce its print days to three a week: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.[27] In November 2025, the paper laid off two opinion writers.[28]
Devin Nunes
Since 2017, the Bee'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.[29] Nunes responded by airing TV ads attacking the paper,[29] and mailing constituents a 40-page glossy pamphlet solely focused on attacking The Bee's reputation.[30]
