Fresno’s legacy newspaper will be under new leadership soon.
Fresno Bee Editor Joseph Kieta announced that he is leaving the Fresno Bee in late spring.
The big picture: Along with leaving The Bee, Kieta announced leaving McClatchy altogether after five years on the job.
- Kieta did not reveal what his next career stop will be.
The backstory: Kieta took over the Bee in 2018 after longtime editor Jim Boren retired.
- Kieta’s replacement of Boren ended up being a familiar theme around The Bee as several longtime Bee reporters and editors left their posts to be replaced by a younger and cheaper staff.
- Those cost-cutting moves came as McClatchy emerged from bankruptcy.
- Kieta also oversaw a shift in The Bee’s operations to include partnerships with nonprofits such as Fresnoland to help fill the pages of the paper.
- The Bee also downsized from its longtime office at 1626 E Street under Kieta’s watch, leasing a downtown space from Bitwise before shifting to remote work. The Bee currently leases a small office in the Bitwise South Stadium building in downtown.
What we’re watching: McClatchy is replacing Kieta with Don Blount, although the move appears to be a sign of further consolidation from the struggling media company.
- Blount serves as the Central Valley Executive Editor and oversees the Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star in addition to the Fresno Bee.
What they’re saying: “Yesterday I announced to the staff that I’ll leave The Fresno Bee and McClatchy in late spring,” Kieta wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “I’m proud of our accomplishments, which include change-making journalism and the establishment of donor-supported reporting labs that have added back important reporting firepower.”
