Something is always happening in the San Francisco Bay area in California, in order to keep up with all the latest news, sports, and events, the area has many newspapers to keep residents and guests informed.
With so many neighborhoods and communities making up the entire area, there are several newspapers that cater to specific news and interests. However the Bay area is served by four major newspapers that are read widely all across the San Francisco Bay. The major newspapers include; The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco examiner, The San Jose Mercury News, and The Oakland Tribune.
San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle is one of the largest newspapers in the country, ranked 12th in circulation nationally, the paper serves the Bay area but is distributed throughout Northern California including Sacramento and the North Coast. Only the Los Angeles Times exceeds The Chronicle in circulation throughout California.
Teenage brothers, Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young founded the paper in 1865 as th Daily Dramatic Chronicle, and the paper continued to grow along with the city.
The De Young family owned The Chronicle until 2000 through the Chronicle Publishing Company, then the paper was sold to Hearst Communications who owned rival paper The San Francisco Examiner, Hearst then transferred ownership of The Examiner to the Fang Family.
The Chronicle now offers a website that includes many features not available in print, like podcasts and blogs. The paper offers coverage of national and international news, but maintains local news coverage to keep up with rival area papers.
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner originally began publication under the name of The Daily Democratic Press in 1863, the paper openly supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the angry citizens of San Francisco stormed the offices of The Daily Democratic Press, determined to kill the pro-Southern editor because Lincoln was killed by Southern sympathizers. The offices were burned and the owners of the paper decided to re-emerge under another name so the paper could continue printing.
In 1880 the entrepreneur George Hearst bought the paper, and it began to grow in size and circulation thanks to writers like Ambrose Bierce and Mark Twain. In the 20th century, The Examiner and The Chronicle traded the title of being the area's number one newspaper.
In 2000, the Hearst Company transferred ownership of The Examiner to the Fang Family. The paper then switched to a tabloid format, but returned to extensive local coverage again. The Examiner is now a free daily newspaper published in a tight compact tabloid size without story jumps, so the paper is quickly and easily read. The Examiner covers local news, politics and sports.
The San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury began in 1851 as teh San Jose Weekly Visitor, in 1942 The Mercury purchased the other San Jose paper called the San Jose News, both paper continued to operate, The Mercury a morning paper, and The News as an evening paper.
In 1986, the paper won the Pulitzer Prize for an article written about the corruption in the Philippine government. The paper is also known for its coverage of the computer and technology field because of its location in Silicon Valley.
MediaNews Group recently secured ownership of The Mercury. The paper's coverage still remains largely local, especially focusing on San Jose and the southern part of the Bay area and Santa Cruz, it's mostly read in that area as well as San Francisco.
The Oakland Tribune
Two men, George Stanford and Benet A. Dewes founded the Oakland Daily Tribune in 1874 and in 1891 became known as the Oakland Tribune. Today, the paper is owned and operated by MediaNews Group.
In 1950 the paper won a Pulitzer Prize, and another Pulitzer in 1989, in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
The paper focuses on local news and its widest circulation is in Oakland and San Francisco. In 2000, the paper went online and founded its website, InsideBayArea.com for even more readers and accessibility.
When you're visiting the Bay area, there's no reason not to stay informed, the area has some of the best, and widest circulated newspapers in the country.
