SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The owner of the Sacramento Bee and the Modesto Bee is filing for bankruptcy.
McClatchy is the second biggest newspaper company in the United States.
The company said all 30 of its local newsrooms will operate as usual for now.
McClatchy started back in 1857 with a newspaper in Sacramento. That paper later became the Sacramento Bee.
"They helped build who we are today," said Sacramento historian Marcia Eymann.
Some might say, it's the end of an era.
"There are so few family businesses that last that long," Eymann said.
Eymann said the McClatchy family started their company right here in the state capitol more than 160 years ago following the gold rush. The family went on to own 30 newspapers across 14 states, five of which are in California, including the Sacramento Bee and the Modesto Bee.
"I think the McClatchy family carried that legacy all the way through," Eymann said. "They felt an obligation to the public and for public service and I think that is such an essential part of any community."
But times have changed, and UC Davis journalism professor Andy Jones says so have the habits of newsreaders.
"I'd say a lot of it has to do with how our consumption of news has really become digitized," Jones said.
Classified ads that newspapers once relied on are somewhat a thing of the past with free online marketplaces, and fewer people are buying the physical papers.
McClatchy has seen a drop in revenue for six consecutive years now.
"Newspapers have been closing all across the country, now two thirds of American counties don't have a daily newspaper," Jones said.
And without local papers like the Sacramento Bee, Jones believes the checks and balances system that communities have relied on for generations could be in jeopardy.
"You lose something in local communities when you don't have local reporters asking questions, following up on stories," Jones said. "Local governments can get sloppy when there aren't newspapers there to ask questions about what's going on and so without those checks and balances, the government, whether it's a local government or even the federal government can get away with things."
In an email to ABC10, a McClatchy spokesperson said the company "remains a strong operating company with an enduring commitment to independent journalism.
"We are privileged to serve the 30 communities across the country that together make McClatchy and are ever grateful to all of our stakeholders – subscribers, readers, advertisers, vendors, investors, and employees – who have enabled our legacy to date," said Kevin McClatchy, chairman of McClatchy's Board of Directors and great-great grandson of the company's founder, James McClatchy.
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