James McClatchy, former newspaper executive, dies at 85.
The Associated Press(Updated Friday, May 26, 2006, 1:45 PM)SACRAMENTO (AP) -
James Briggs McClatchy, former chairman of the board of McClatchy Newspapers and the patriarch of a prominent family of journalists, died of complications from an infection following surgery, the company announced in a statement.
McClatchy was the great-grandson of a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee and the son of the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. They are part of a group of newspapers that has become the nation's second largest with McClatchy's recent $4.5 billion purchase of the Knight Ridder chain."
Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," Gary Pruitt, the company's current chairman and chief executive, said in a statement issued by the Sacramento-based company. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
James McClatchy was born in Sacramento, the eldest son of Carlos and Phebe McClatchy.
He began his newspaper career in 1947 as a general assignment and education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He later worked in the company's Washington, D.C., bureau.In 1980, he became chairman of the board. In 1987, his brother, C.K., became chairman, while James was named publisher of McClatchy Newspapers with responsibility for general corporate planning and acquisitions.
When C.K. McClatchy died in 1989, James again became board chairman. He was named publisher again in 1995 and retired last year.
Asked recently how he wanted to be remembered, McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
McClatchy is survived by his wife, Susan, sons William and Carlos McClatchy, his brother William and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
www.FresnoBee.com
------------------------
Another reads:
Commitment fulfilled
Newspaperman carried on family business, fought for free press.
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 4:50 AM)
Last Saturday, California State University, Fresno, issued an honorary doctorate to James McClatchy for his lifetime of public service. It was a fitting tribute to Mr. McClatchy, who devoted his career to journalism and was committed to press freedom here and abroad.
Mr. McClatchy gracefully carried the responsibility of being the namesake of the founder of the company, who started The Sacramento Bee in 1857.
His father, Carlos, founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, and James McClatchy worked in many areas of the newspaper from the time he was a young boy. He said his first paycheck was for $1 for running the proof press in the composing room at age 12.
After graduating from Stanford University and serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Mr. McClatchy was a reporter in Sacramento. During his newspaper career, he covered assignments that ranged from Fresno City Hall to presidential politics.
As he became a senior member of the newspaper family, he quietly assumed the role as an industry leader.
He was a longtime director of the company. He served as publisher of The McClatchy Company and served as chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McClatchy retired from the board in 2005.
In recent years, he would periodically attend editorial board meetings at The Sacramento Bee and participate in public policy discussions. He wasn't there to dictate. He was there to discuss and to prod, for the joy of exchanging ideas and hoping to create a better future.
In a conversation not long before his death, Mr. McClatchy was asked about how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
Mr. McClatchy established an endowment to support the classics and bilingual education programs at Fresno State. The endowment provided scholarship support to hundreds of students over the years. He also the founded the Central Valley Foundation, which supports press freedom and education for the children of immigrants throughout the Valley.
Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of Fresno's Metropolitan Museum, and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978. It became the museum's home.
Mr. McClatchy was a tireless advocate for regional thinking, regional planning, regional protection, regional action.
But for all his intense interest in Valley affairs, he was far from parochial. He was active in the Inter-American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere, and served for a year as the group's president.
James McClatchy never really retired. His mind was too busy for that. And his voice, advocating for positive change, regional thinking and excellence in journalism, lives on.
-------------
Another reads:
James McClatchy received an honorary doctorate from Fresno State on May 20. Asked before his death Friday how he wanted to be remembered, Mr. McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
John Walker / The Fresno Bee
Influential, humble newsman James McClatchy dies
By Doug Hoagland / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 9:05 AM)
James McClatchy, a fourth-generation newsman in a historic California family who was raised in Fresno and who became a self-effacing philanthropist, died Friday at his home near Sacramento.
He was 85. Mr. McClatchy, whose father founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, died in Carmichael of complications from an infection following recent surgery.
Last Saturday, he received an honorary doctorate during commencement at California State University, Fresno. Mr. McClatchy was honored for his commitment to education and freedom of the press.
"I found him to be extraordinarily insightful, and he had a great ability in a small number of words to express himself," Fresno State President John Welty said Friday.
Mr. McClatchy said in a conversation not long before his death how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
The ink-stained fingers of a reporter and editor might have been his birthright — and Mr. McClatchy did work in the newsroom at The Bee — but his influence in Fresno and the Valley extended beyond the news pages.
The downtown Fresno Metropolitan Museum is one example. Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of the regional art and science museum and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978, which became the museum's home.
Over three decades, he remained a museum patron.
"His death is a loss to the entire community, particularly to those institutions involved in arts and culture," said Kathleen Monaghan, the museum's executive director.
"Mr. McClatchy was a humble and reticent man who consistently supported Fresno, as well as other places, and did all of his philanthropic work in a private way."
Monaghan declined to say how much money Mr. McClatchy gave the museum.
When his mother, Fresno civic leader Phebe Conley, died at age 99 in 1992, Mr. McClatchy used money from her estate to start the Central Valley Foundation. It supports press freedom and teaching immigrant children to speak, read and write English in public schools.
"Both James and Susan [his wife] felt strongly that kids need to be fluent in English if they are going to enjoy the American dream," said Fresno lawyer Doug Jensen, a trustee of the Central Valley Foundation.
Jensen said the foundation concentrates its efforts in Fresno and Sacramento.
Mr. McClatchy was born in 1920 in Sacramento. He was named for his great-grandfather, who was the founding editor of The Sacramento Bee in 1857. His grandfather, C.K. McClatchy, owned and edited the paper for more than half a century.
Mr. McClatchy's father, Carlos, was the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. Carlos McClatchy and his wife, Phebe Conley, had three sons, James, C.K. and William. The family first lived on Yosemite Avenue in a house that decades later was demolished to make way for a freeway.
The family later moved to Huntington Boulevard.
Mr. McClatchy earned his first paycheck at 12 for running the proof press in The Fresno Bee's composing room.
The check was for $1.
Mr. McClatchy was a pilot during World War II, and later graduated from Stanford University. His first full-time job was as a police reporter at The Sacramento Bee, and he later worked as a reporter in Fresno.
In 1958, while working in the company's bureau in Washington, D.C., Mr. McClatchy married his first wife, Jean Fugitt. They had two sons and divorced in 1973. In 1980, he married his second wife, Susan, and was named chairman of the McClatchy board. He held other top corporate posts and in 2005 retired as a board member, but remained a presence in the company and at the flagship paper, The Sacramento Bee.
"Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy chairman, president and chief executive. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
Mr. McClatchy served as president of the Inter American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere.
His appreciation of the arts extended to Greek and Roman antiquity, and he established an endowment that helps support Fresno State's classics program and other university programs. Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman language, literatures and culture, and the program uses the money for scholarships and guest speakers.
"He was a down-to-earth guy interested in doing good for Valley students," said Fresno State classics professor Bruce Thornton. "He always maintained a connection with the Valley and wanted to see talent supported and he made the funds available to do that."
Mr. McClatchy made other contributions to Fresno State that went unpublicized because he wanted it that way. Said university president Welty: "He was an incredibly generous person and really was not interested in getting credit, but was more interested in what the impact of his philanthropy would be on other people."
Carol Whiteside of Modesto, president of the nonprofit Great Valley Center, which researches and promotes Valley issues, said Mr. McClatchy was an exception in this age of self-promotion: "He came from the media and had access to having a big voice, but he never chose that."
Mr. McClatchy's death comes as his family's company is about to become the second-largest newspaper chain in the country after agreeing to acquire rival publisher Knight Ridder earlier this year.
He is survived by his wife, Susan McClatchy; sons, William and Carlos McClatchy; brother, William Ellery McClatchy; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.The reporter can be reached at [email protected] (559) 441-6354.
The Associated Press(Updated Friday, May 26, 2006, 1:45 PM)SACRAMENTO (AP) -
James Briggs McClatchy, former chairman of the board of McClatchy Newspapers and the patriarch of a prominent family of journalists, died of complications from an infection following surgery, the company announced in a statement.
McClatchy was the great-grandson of a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee and the son of the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. They are part of a group of newspapers that has become the nation's second largest with McClatchy's recent $4.5 billion purchase of the Knight Ridder chain."
Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," Gary Pruitt, the company's current chairman and chief executive, said in a statement issued by the Sacramento-based company. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
James McClatchy was born in Sacramento, the eldest son of Carlos and Phebe McClatchy.
He began his newspaper career in 1947 as a general assignment and education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He later worked in the company's Washington, D.C., bureau.In 1980, he became chairman of the board. In 1987, his brother, C.K., became chairman, while James was named publisher of McClatchy Newspapers with responsibility for general corporate planning and acquisitions.
When C.K. McClatchy died in 1989, James again became board chairman. He was named publisher again in 1995 and retired last year.
Asked recently how he wanted to be remembered, McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
McClatchy is survived by his wife, Susan, sons William and Carlos McClatchy, his brother William and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
www.FresnoBee.com
------------------------
Another reads:
Commitment fulfilled
Newspaperman carried on family business, fought for free press.
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 4:50 AM)
Last Saturday, California State University, Fresno, issued an honorary doctorate to James McClatchy for his lifetime of public service. It was a fitting tribute to Mr. McClatchy, who devoted his career to journalism and was committed to press freedom here and abroad.
Mr. McClatchy gracefully carried the responsibility of being the namesake of the founder of the company, who started The Sacramento Bee in 1857.
His father, Carlos, founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, and James McClatchy worked in many areas of the newspaper from the time he was a young boy. He said his first paycheck was for $1 for running the proof press in the composing room at age 12.
After graduating from Stanford University and serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Mr. McClatchy was a reporter in Sacramento. During his newspaper career, he covered assignments that ranged from Fresno City Hall to presidential politics.
As he became a senior member of the newspaper family, he quietly assumed the role as an industry leader.
He was a longtime director of the company. He served as publisher of The McClatchy Company and served as chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McClatchy retired from the board in 2005.
In recent years, he would periodically attend editorial board meetings at The Sacramento Bee and participate in public policy discussions. He wasn't there to dictate. He was there to discuss and to prod, for the joy of exchanging ideas and hoping to create a better future.
In a conversation not long before his death, Mr. McClatchy was asked about how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
Mr. McClatchy established an endowment to support the classics and bilingual education programs at Fresno State. The endowment provided scholarship support to hundreds of students over the years. He also the founded the Central Valley Foundation, which supports press freedom and education for the children of immigrants throughout the Valley.
Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of Fresno's Metropolitan Museum, and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978. It became the museum's home.
Mr. McClatchy was a tireless advocate for regional thinking, regional planning, regional protection, regional action.
But for all his intense interest in Valley affairs, he was far from parochial. He was active in the Inter-American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere, and served for a year as the group's president.
James McClatchy never really retired. His mind was too busy for that. And his voice, advocating for positive change, regional thinking and excellence in journalism, lives on.
-------------
Another reads:
James McClatchy received an honorary doctorate from Fresno State on May 20. Asked before his death Friday how he wanted to be remembered, Mr. McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
John Walker / The Fresno Bee
Influential, humble newsman James McClatchy dies
By Doug Hoagland / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 9:05 AM)
James McClatchy, a fourth-generation newsman in a historic California family who was raised in Fresno and who became a self-effacing philanthropist, died Friday at his home near Sacramento.
He was 85. Mr. McClatchy, whose father founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, died in Carmichael of complications from an infection following recent surgery.
Last Saturday, he received an honorary doctorate during commencement at California State University, Fresno. Mr. McClatchy was honored for his commitment to education and freedom of the press.
"I found him to be extraordinarily insightful, and he had a great ability in a small number of words to express himself," Fresno State President John Welty said Friday.
Mr. McClatchy said in a conversation not long before his death how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
The ink-stained fingers of a reporter and editor might have been his birthright — and Mr. McClatchy did work in the newsroom at The Bee — but his influence in Fresno and the Valley extended beyond the news pages.
The downtown Fresno Metropolitan Museum is one example. Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of the regional art and science museum and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978, which became the museum's home.
Over three decades, he remained a museum patron.
"His death is a loss to the entire community, particularly to those institutions involved in arts and culture," said Kathleen Monaghan, the museum's executive director.
"Mr. McClatchy was a humble and reticent man who consistently supported Fresno, as well as other places, and did all of his philanthropic work in a private way."
Monaghan declined to say how much money Mr. McClatchy gave the museum.
When his mother, Fresno civic leader Phebe Conley, died at age 99 in 1992, Mr. McClatchy used money from her estate to start the Central Valley Foundation. It supports press freedom and teaching immigrant children to speak, read and write English in public schools.
"Both James and Susan [his wife] felt strongly that kids need to be fluent in English if they are going to enjoy the American dream," said Fresno lawyer Doug Jensen, a trustee of the Central Valley Foundation.
Jensen said the foundation concentrates its efforts in Fresno and Sacramento.
Mr. McClatchy was born in 1920 in Sacramento. He was named for his great-grandfather, who was the founding editor of The Sacramento Bee in 1857. His grandfather, C.K. McClatchy, owned and edited the paper for more than half a century.
Mr. McClatchy's father, Carlos, was the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. Carlos McClatchy and his wife, Phebe Conley, had three sons, James, C.K. and William. The family first lived on Yosemite Avenue in a house that decades later was demolished to make way for a freeway.
The family later moved to Huntington Boulevard.
Mr. McClatchy earned his first paycheck at 12 for running the proof press in The Fresno Bee's composing room.
The check was for $1.
Mr. McClatchy was a pilot during World War II, and later graduated from Stanford University. His first full-time job was as a police reporter at The Sacramento Bee, and he later worked as a reporter in Fresno.
In 1958, while working in the company's bureau in Washington, D.C., Mr. McClatchy married his first wife, Jean Fugitt. They had two sons and divorced in 1973. In 1980, he married his second wife, Susan, and was named chairman of the McClatchy board. He held other top corporate posts and in 2005 retired as a board member, but remained a presence in the company and at the flagship paper, The Sacramento Bee.
"Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy chairman, president and chief executive. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
Mr. McClatchy served as president of the Inter American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere.
His appreciation of the arts extended to Greek and Roman antiquity, and he established an endowment that helps support Fresno State's classics program and other university programs. Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman language, literatures and culture, and the program uses the money for scholarships and guest speakers.
"He was a down-to-earth guy interested in doing good for Valley students," said Fresno State classics professor Bruce Thornton. "He always maintained a connection with the Valley and wanted to see talent supported and he made the funds available to do that."
Mr. McClatchy made other contributions to Fresno State that went unpublicized because he wanted it that way. Said university president Welty: "He was an incredibly generous person and really was not interested in getting credit, but was more interested in what the impact of his philanthropy would be on other people."
Carol Whiteside of Modesto, president of the nonprofit Great Valley Center, which researches and promotes Valley issues, said Mr. McClatchy was an exception in this age of self-promotion: "He came from the media and had access to having a big voice, but he never chose that."
Mr. McClatchy's death comes as his family's company is about to become the second-largest newspaper chain in the country after agreeing to acquire rival publisher Knight Ridder earlier this year.
He is survived by his wife, Susan McClatchy; sons, William and Carlos McClatchy; brother, William Ellery McClatchy; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.The reporter can be reached at [email protected] (559) 441-6354.
James McClatchy, former newspaper executive, dies at 85.
The Associated Press(Updated Friday, May 26, 2006, 1:45 PM)SACRAMENTO (AP) -
James Briggs McClatchy, former chairman of the board of McClatchy Newspapers and the patriarch of a prominent family of journalists, died of complications from an infection following surgery, the company announced in a statement.
McClatchy was the great-grandson of a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee and the son of the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. They are part of a group of newspapers that has become the nation's second largest with McClatchy's recent $4.5 billion purchase of the Knight Ridder chain."
Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," Gary Pruitt, the company's current chairman and chief executive, said in a statement issued by the Sacramento-based company. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
James McClatchy was born in Sacramento, the eldest son of Carlos and Phebe McClatchy.
He began his newspaper career in 1947 as a general assignment and education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He later worked in the company's Washington, D.C., bureau.In 1980, he became chairman of the board. In 1987, his brother, C.K., became chairman, while James was named publisher of McClatchy Newspapers with responsibility for general corporate planning and acquisitions.
When C.K. McClatchy died in 1989, James again became board chairman. He was named publisher again in 1995 and retired last year.
Asked recently how he wanted to be remembered, McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
McClatchy is survived by his wife, Susan, sons William and Carlos McClatchy, his brother William and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
www.FresnoBee.com
------------------------
Another reads:
Commitment fulfilled
Newspaperman carried on family business, fought for free press.
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 4:50 AM)
Last Saturday, California State University, Fresno, issued an honorary doctorate to James McClatchy for his lifetime of public service. It was a fitting tribute to Mr. McClatchy, who devoted his career to journalism and was committed to press freedom here and abroad.
Mr. McClatchy gracefully carried the responsibility of being the namesake of the founder of the company, who started The Sacramento Bee in 1857.
His father, Carlos, founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, and James McClatchy worked in many areas of the newspaper from the time he was a young boy. He said his first paycheck was for $1 for running the proof press in the composing room at age 12.
After graduating from Stanford University and serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Mr. McClatchy was a reporter in Sacramento. During his newspaper career, he covered assignments that ranged from Fresno City Hall to presidential politics.
As he became a senior member of the newspaper family, he quietly assumed the role as an industry leader.
He was a longtime director of the company. He served as publisher of The McClatchy Company and served as chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McClatchy retired from the board in 2005.
In recent years, he would periodically attend editorial board meetings at The Sacramento Bee and participate in public policy discussions. He wasn't there to dictate. He was there to discuss and to prod, for the joy of exchanging ideas and hoping to create a better future.
In a conversation not long before his death, Mr. McClatchy was asked about how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
Mr. McClatchy established an endowment to support the classics and bilingual education programs at Fresno State. The endowment provided scholarship support to hundreds of students over the years. He also the founded the Central Valley Foundation, which supports press freedom and education for the children of immigrants throughout the Valley.
Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of Fresno's Metropolitan Museum, and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978. It became the museum's home.
Mr. McClatchy was a tireless advocate for regional thinking, regional planning, regional protection, regional action.
But for all his intense interest in Valley affairs, he was far from parochial. He was active in the Inter-American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere, and served for a year as the group's president.
James McClatchy never really retired. His mind was too busy for that. And his voice, advocating for positive change, regional thinking and excellence in journalism, lives on.
-------------
Another reads:
James McClatchy received an honorary doctorate from Fresno State on May 20. Asked before his death Friday how he wanted to be remembered, Mr. McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
John Walker / The Fresno Bee
Influential, humble newsman James McClatchy dies
By Doug Hoagland / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 9:05 AM)
James McClatchy, a fourth-generation newsman in a historic California family who was raised in Fresno and who became a self-effacing philanthropist, died Friday at his home near Sacramento.
He was 85. Mr. McClatchy, whose father founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, died in Carmichael of complications from an infection following recent surgery.
Last Saturday, he received an honorary doctorate during commencement at California State University, Fresno. Mr. McClatchy was honored for his commitment to education and freedom of the press.
"I found him to be extraordinarily insightful, and he had a great ability in a small number of words to express himself," Fresno State President John Welty said Friday.
Mr. McClatchy said in a conversation not long before his death how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
The ink-stained fingers of a reporter and editor might have been his birthright — and Mr. McClatchy did work in the newsroom at The Bee — but his influence in Fresno and the Valley extended beyond the news pages.
The downtown Fresno Metropolitan Museum is one example. Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of the regional art and science museum and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978, which became the museum's home.
Over three decades, he remained a museum patron.
"His death is a loss to the entire community, particularly to those institutions involved in arts and culture," said Kathleen Monaghan, the museum's executive director.
"Mr. McClatchy was a humble and reticent man who consistently supported Fresno, as well as other places, and did all of his philanthropic work in a private way."
Monaghan declined to say how much money Mr. McClatchy gave the museum.
When his mother, Fresno civic leader Phebe Conley, died at age 99 in 1992, Mr. McClatchy used money from her estate to start the Central Valley Foundation. It supports press freedom and teaching immigrant children to speak, read and write English in public schools.
"Both James and Susan [his wife] felt strongly that kids need to be fluent in English if they are going to enjoy the American dream," said Fresno lawyer Doug Jensen, a trustee of the Central Valley Foundation.
Jensen said the foundation concentrates its efforts in Fresno and Sacramento.
Mr. McClatchy was born in 1920 in Sacramento. He was named for his great-grandfather, who was the founding editor of The Sacramento Bee in 1857. His grandfather, C.K. McClatchy, owned and edited the paper for more than half a century.
Mr. McClatchy's father, Carlos, was the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. Carlos McClatchy and his wife, Phebe Conley, had three sons, James, C.K. and William. The family first lived on Yosemite Avenue in a house that decades later was demolished to make way for a freeway.
The family later moved to Huntington Boulevard.
Mr. McClatchy earned his first paycheck at 12 for running the proof press in The Fresno Bee's composing room.
The check was for $1.
Mr. McClatchy was a pilot during World War II, and later graduated from Stanford University. His first full-time job was as a police reporter at The Sacramento Bee, and he later worked as a reporter in Fresno.
In 1958, while working in the company's bureau in Washington, D.C., Mr. McClatchy married his first wife, Jean Fugitt. They had two sons and divorced in 1973. In 1980, he married his second wife, Susan, and was named chairman of the McClatchy board. He held other top corporate posts and in 2005 retired as a board member, but remained a presence in the company and at the flagship paper, The Sacramento Bee.
"Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy chairman, president and chief executive. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
Mr. McClatchy served as president of the Inter American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere.
His appreciation of the arts extended to Greek and Roman antiquity, and he established an endowment that helps support Fresno State's classics program and other university programs. Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman language, literatures and culture, and the program uses the money for scholarships and guest speakers.
"He was a down-to-earth guy interested in doing good for Valley students," said Fresno State classics professor Bruce Thornton. "He always maintained a connection with the Valley and wanted to see talent supported and he made the funds available to do that."
Mr. McClatchy made other contributions to Fresno State that went unpublicized because he wanted it that way. Said university president Welty: "He was an incredibly generous person and really was not interested in getting credit, but was more interested in what the impact of his philanthropy would be on other people."
Carol Whiteside of Modesto, president of the nonprofit Great Valley Center, which researches and promotes Valley issues, said Mr. McClatchy was an exception in this age of self-promotion: "He came from the media and had access to having a big voice, but he never chose that."
Mr. McClatchy's death comes as his family's company is about to become the second-largest newspaper chain in the country after agreeing to acquire rival publisher Knight Ridder earlier this year.
He is survived by his wife, Susan McClatchy; sons, William and Carlos McClatchy; brother, William Ellery McClatchy; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.The reporter can be reached at [email protected] (559) 441-6354.
The Associated Press(Updated Friday, May 26, 2006, 1:45 PM)SACRAMENTO (AP) -
James Briggs McClatchy, former chairman of the board of McClatchy Newspapers and the patriarch of a prominent family of journalists, died of complications from an infection following surgery, the company announced in a statement.
McClatchy was the great-grandson of a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee and the son of the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. They are part of a group of newspapers that has become the nation's second largest with McClatchy's recent $4.5 billion purchase of the Knight Ridder chain."
Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," Gary Pruitt, the company's current chairman and chief executive, said in a statement issued by the Sacramento-based company. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
James McClatchy was born in Sacramento, the eldest son of Carlos and Phebe McClatchy.
He began his newspaper career in 1947 as a general assignment and education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He later worked in the company's Washington, D.C., bureau.In 1980, he became chairman of the board. In 1987, his brother, C.K., became chairman, while James was named publisher of McClatchy Newspapers with responsibility for general corporate planning and acquisitions.
When C.K. McClatchy died in 1989, James again became board chairman. He was named publisher again in 1995 and retired last year.
Asked recently how he wanted to be remembered, McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
McClatchy is survived by his wife, Susan, sons William and Carlos McClatchy, his brother William and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
www.FresnoBee.com
------------------------
Another reads:
Commitment fulfilled
Newspaperman carried on family business, fought for free press.
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 4:50 AM)
Last Saturday, California State University, Fresno, issued an honorary doctorate to James McClatchy for his lifetime of public service. It was a fitting tribute to Mr. McClatchy, who devoted his career to journalism and was committed to press freedom here and abroad.
Mr. McClatchy gracefully carried the responsibility of being the namesake of the founder of the company, who started The Sacramento Bee in 1857.
His father, Carlos, founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, and James McClatchy worked in many areas of the newspaper from the time he was a young boy. He said his first paycheck was for $1 for running the proof press in the composing room at age 12.
After graduating from Stanford University and serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Mr. McClatchy was a reporter in Sacramento. During his newspaper career, he covered assignments that ranged from Fresno City Hall to presidential politics.
As he became a senior member of the newspaper family, he quietly assumed the role as an industry leader.
He was a longtime director of the company. He served as publisher of The McClatchy Company and served as chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McClatchy retired from the board in 2005.
In recent years, he would periodically attend editorial board meetings at The Sacramento Bee and participate in public policy discussions. He wasn't there to dictate. He was there to discuss and to prod, for the joy of exchanging ideas and hoping to create a better future.
In a conversation not long before his death, Mr. McClatchy was asked about how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
Mr. McClatchy established an endowment to support the classics and bilingual education programs at Fresno State. The endowment provided scholarship support to hundreds of students over the years. He also the founded the Central Valley Foundation, which supports press freedom and education for the children of immigrants throughout the Valley.
Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of Fresno's Metropolitan Museum, and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978. It became the museum's home.
Mr. McClatchy was a tireless advocate for regional thinking, regional planning, regional protection, regional action.
But for all his intense interest in Valley affairs, he was far from parochial. He was active in the Inter-American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere, and served for a year as the group's president.
James McClatchy never really retired. His mind was too busy for that. And his voice, advocating for positive change, regional thinking and excellence in journalism, lives on.
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Another reads:
James McClatchy received an honorary doctorate from Fresno State on May 20. Asked before his death Friday how he wanted to be remembered, Mr. McClatchy said, "Put down that I was a newspaperman."
John Walker / The Fresno Bee
Influential, humble newsman James McClatchy dies
By Doug Hoagland / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, May 27, 2006, 9:05 AM)
James McClatchy, a fourth-generation newsman in a historic California family who was raised in Fresno and who became a self-effacing philanthropist, died Friday at his home near Sacramento.
He was 85. Mr. McClatchy, whose father founded The Fresno Bee in 1922, died in Carmichael of complications from an infection following recent surgery.
Last Saturday, he received an honorary doctorate during commencement at California State University, Fresno. Mr. McClatchy was honored for his commitment to education and freedom of the press.
"I found him to be extraordinarily insightful, and he had a great ability in a small number of words to express himself," Fresno State President John Welty said Friday.
Mr. McClatchy said in a conversation not long before his death how he wanted to be remembered:
"Put down that I was a newspaperman."
The ink-stained fingers of a reporter and editor might have been his birthright — and Mr. McClatchy did work in the newsroom at The Bee — but his influence in Fresno and the Valley extended beyond the news pages.
The downtown Fresno Metropolitan Museum is one example. Mr. McClatchy and his family were among the founders of the regional art and science museum and they donated the old Fresno Bee building in 1978, which became the museum's home.
Over three decades, he remained a museum patron.
"His death is a loss to the entire community, particularly to those institutions involved in arts and culture," said Kathleen Monaghan, the museum's executive director.
"Mr. McClatchy was a humble and reticent man who consistently supported Fresno, as well as other places, and did all of his philanthropic work in a private way."
Monaghan declined to say how much money Mr. McClatchy gave the museum.
When his mother, Fresno civic leader Phebe Conley, died at age 99 in 1992, Mr. McClatchy used money from her estate to start the Central Valley Foundation. It supports press freedom and teaching immigrant children to speak, read and write English in public schools.
"Both James and Susan [his wife] felt strongly that kids need to be fluent in English if they are going to enjoy the American dream," said Fresno lawyer Doug Jensen, a trustee of the Central Valley Foundation.
Jensen said the foundation concentrates its efforts in Fresno and Sacramento.
Mr. McClatchy was born in 1920 in Sacramento. He was named for his great-grandfather, who was the founding editor of The Sacramento Bee in 1857. His grandfather, C.K. McClatchy, owned and edited the paper for more than half a century.
Mr. McClatchy's father, Carlos, was the founder and first editor of The Fresno Bee. Carlos McClatchy and his wife, Phebe Conley, had three sons, James, C.K. and William. The family first lived on Yosemite Avenue in a house that decades later was demolished to make way for a freeway.
The family later moved to Huntington Boulevard.
Mr. McClatchy earned his first paycheck at 12 for running the proof press in The Fresno Bee's composing room.
The check was for $1.
Mr. McClatchy was a pilot during World War II, and later graduated from Stanford University. His first full-time job was as a police reporter at The Sacramento Bee, and he later worked as a reporter in Fresno.
In 1958, while working in the company's bureau in Washington, D.C., Mr. McClatchy married his first wife, Jean Fugitt. They had two sons and divorced in 1973. In 1980, he married his second wife, Susan, and was named chairman of the McClatchy board. He held other top corporate posts and in 2005 retired as a board member, but remained a presence in the company and at the flagship paper, The Sacramento Bee.
"Jim was one of the great leaders of the McClatchy Company," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy chairman, president and chief executive. "His contributions ranged from grand strategy to nuts-and-bolts decisions. Jim literally never stopped working to advance the traditions of independent, public service journalism."
Mr. McClatchy served as president of the Inter American Press Association, which championed free speech and a free press throughout the hemisphere.
His appreciation of the arts extended to Greek and Roman antiquity, and he established an endowment that helps support Fresno State's classics program and other university programs. Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman language, literatures and culture, and the program uses the money for scholarships and guest speakers.
"He was a down-to-earth guy interested in doing good for Valley students," said Fresno State classics professor Bruce Thornton. "He always maintained a connection with the Valley and wanted to see talent supported and he made the funds available to do that."
Mr. McClatchy made other contributions to Fresno State that went unpublicized because he wanted it that way. Said university president Welty: "He was an incredibly generous person and really was not interested in getting credit, but was more interested in what the impact of his philanthropy would be on other people."
Carol Whiteside of Modesto, president of the nonprofit Great Valley Center, which researches and promotes Valley issues, said Mr. McClatchy was an exception in this age of self-promotion: "He came from the media and had access to having a big voice, but he never chose that."
Mr. McClatchy's death comes as his family's company is about to become the second-largest newspaper chain in the country after agreeing to acquire rival publisher Knight Ridder earlier this year.
He is survived by his wife, Susan McClatchy; sons, William and Carlos McClatchy; brother, William Ellery McClatchy; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.The reporter can be reached at [email protected] (559) 441-6354.
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