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'''''The Sacramento Bee''''' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, [[California]]. Since its creation in 1857, the ''Bee'' has become Sacramento's largest newspaper. The original newspaper was owned by the McClatchy family of [[California]]. The ''Bee'' was the foundation for McClatchy Newspapers, a regional chain that grew into the nationwide McClatchy Company. ''The Sacramento Bee'' is one of the five largest newspapers in California (alongside the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]'', and ''[[The Orange County Register]]'' ), with distribution in the Sacramento Valley and its surrounding areas.

==Initiative coverage==
The Sacramento Bee takes a progressive view on politics and the coverage of [[initiative]]s reflects that. Recent [[California Proposition 94 (2008)|gambling compact initiatives]] are an example of the types of [[initiative]]s that the newspaper will take a stance on.

<blockquote>''"The new gambling deals ... give away too much to a handful of the richest, most powerful tribes in the state. The deals also expand gambling far beyond the ‘modest increase’ voters were promised when they approved casino-style gambling in California in 1998."''--The Sacramento Bee<ref>[http://www.nounfairdeals.com/keyfacts/factsheet.htm No Unfair Deals, Fact sheet]</ref></blockquote>

== 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. 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 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.

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.<ref>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.</ref>

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.

== 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://www.sacbee.com/static/live/guide/newsroom/2002_awards.html here].

== Mission statement ==
The mission statement of ''The Sacramento Bee'', located at their website:
:''A newspaper is not solely about news and information. It’s about people, their real life stories and how we understand them. Our readers and our community are the most important part of the equation. They are why we are here and why our mission is to be the most valued regional news and information provider through superior performance in business and journalism.''

== Notes ==
<references/>

== References ==
* {{cite 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}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.sacbee.com ''The Sacramento Bee'' website]
* [http://www.sacramento.com ''Sacramento.com'' local search] (owned by ''The Sacramento Bee'')
* [http://www.mcclatchy.com/146/story/450.html The McClatchy Company's subsidiary profile of ''The Sacramento Bee'']

<small>This article was taken from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacramento_Bee Wikipedia], the free encyclopedia under the GNU license</small>

[[Category:California media]]