Although the number of print newspapers has declined over the years as the public turns to the Internet to consume their news, many publications have thrived by growing their online readership.
We’ve rounded up the top 10 newspaper publications in California based on circulation and overall visitation to their websites. Descriptions and readership numbers are pulled from Muck Rack’s powerful database of media outlets.
Read on to discover the top 10 California newspapers.
(Stay tuned each month for more location and niche-based media outlet breakdowns from Muck Rack!)
1. Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper which has been published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It has the fourth-largest circulation among United States newspapers. From 2000 to 2018, the Times was owned by Tronc (previously Tribune Publishing). It was bought in February 2018 by Patrick Soon-Shiong's investment firm Nant Capital LLC for $500 million plus $90m in pension liabilities.
UVMs (Unique visitors per month): 32,500,119
Circulation: 446,391
Frequency: Daily
2. San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout the state from the Sacramento area and Emerald Triangle south to Santa Barbara County. It was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The paper is currently owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000.
UVMs (Unique visitors per month): 2,248,731
Circulation: 163,307
Frequency: Daily
3. The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune is an American metropolitan daily newspaper, published in San Diego, California. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, The San Diego Union and the San Diego Evening Tribune. The name changed to U-T San Diego in 2012 but was changed again to The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015.
UVMs: 3,222,961
Circulation: 144,085
Frequency: Daily
4. The Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its founding in 1857, The Bee has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 27th largest paper in the U.S. It is distributed in the upper Sacramento Valley, with a total circulation area that spans about 12,000 square miles (31,000 km2): south to Stockton, California, north to the Oregon border, east to Reno, Nevada, and west to the San Francisco Bay Area.
UVMs: 4,189,775
Circulation: 128,102
Frequency: Daily
5. The Mercury News
The Mercury News (formerly San Jose Mercury News), often locally known as The Merc, is an American daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in Silicon Valley. Published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiary of Digital First Media, The Mercury News has the 5th largest circulation out of American newspapers. Formerly published as the San Jose Mercury News, Bay Area News Group announced in March 2016 that the newspaper would be re-branded as The Mercury News as part of a consolidation plan. The Mercury News launched on April 5, 2016.
UVMs: 9,558,790
Circulation: 110,206
Frequency: Daily
6. Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in California. The Register, published in Santa Ana, is the flagship of Freedom Communications, Inc.
UVMs: 4,090,514
Circulation: 109,425
Frequency: Daily
7. East Bay Times
The East Bay Times (formerly the Contra Costa times) is a daily newspaper covering the Contra Costa and Alameda County, as well as the broader San Francisco Bay Area. The Times, published in San Jose, is a subsidiary of Digital First Media.
UVMs: 1,063,084
Circulation: 98,700
Frequency: Daily
8. The Korea Daily
The Korean Daily is the most read Korean language general daily newspaper in the United States.
UVMs: N/A
Circulation: 80,000
Frequency: Daily
9. Fresno Bee
The Fresno Bee is the daily newspaper serving Fresno, California and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers.
UVMs: 1,218,165
Circulation: 66,891
Frequency: Daily
10. The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a longtime daily newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California. The paper has been published continuously since 1863.
UVMs: 293,236
Circulation: 65,000
Frequency: Daily
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Andrew Mercier is the Editorial Director of Muck Rack, a digital PR and journalism platform.
Photo via Pexels
*This post was updated on March 29th, 2018
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Muck Rack was founded by Greg Galant and Lee Semel in 2009 as a way to help journalists find each other on social media. It quickly became popular, with more than 10,000 journalists requesting to be added to Muck Rack in the first year.
