Sacramento Bee confirms plans to drop its Saturday print edition starting Feb. 22

“To our readers:

“The Sacramento Bee is changing to meet the needs of our readers and the communities we serve long into the future. Providing the news that’s essential to your life, be it breaking news, coverage of our local governments and schools, sports and watchdog journalism that holds public officials accountable, remains our mission.

“While that mission hasn’t changed, we are seeing shifts in how our readers are engaging with this valued content.  More and more of our customers are engaging with our local journalism online. This is not only a trend in the Sacramento region, it is a media industry trend, and in fact, all industries.

“To support these shifts, starting on Feb. 22, we will no longer produce a printed newspaper on Saturday and will launch with a Weekend Edition that includes expanded newspapers on Fridays and Sundays.  Many of the features that you enjoy on Saturday such as comics, puzzles, TV listings, real estate, home and garden and local sports coverage will now appear in expanded editions in print on Friday and Sunday. On Saturdays, we will continue to publish breaking local news to our website and social media platforms and we invite you to visit our website or eEdition, which replicates the experience of a printed newspaper online.

“While a printed newspaper once was the sole means of accessing news and information, we now offer many different ways to connect with The Sacramento Bee beyond print – on our sacbee.com website, on mobile apps, on social media sites such as  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and through video, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and newsletters. These digital platforms are accessible wherever you go and whenever you want.

“We also have an additional challenge in California. With the recent passage of AB 5, delivery costs for the printed newspaper will increase dramatically by 2021. We are making this strategic change to invest in our future and to continue to be your source of news and information on all the platforms you choose.

“As we make this transition together we want to thank you again for your loyalty and investment in The Sacramento Bee. We are dedicated to providing this community, one we care deeply about, with independent, fact-based news and solutions for local businesses that help us all thrive and grow for many years to come. This is another step to make progress towards this goal.

“Thank you.

Gary Wortel is the President and Publisher of The Sacramento Bee
Read more here.