Retired Sacramento Bee publisher Cheryl Dell wins top news media honor

Former Sacramento Bee publisher Cheryl Dell this week received the Ralph D. Casey/Minnesota Award, a top accolade for newspaper and news media publishers.

Dell became the first recipient of the Casey Award on behalf of a McClatchy-owned publication as she accepted the award Tuesday at the Inland Press Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, according to a news release. The award has been given since 1948.

The Casey Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Inland Press Association, a nonprofit organization with 1,450 members, the release said.

A graduate of Sacramento State and a native of Modesto, Dell held the position of publisher at two other McClatchy publications – the Tri-City Herald and The News-Tribune, both in Washington state – before taking that role at The Sacramento Bee in 2008.

Dell announced her retirement in March 2017 after 30 years as an executive in the newspaper industry. Gary Wortel, then the publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, took on the role of regional publisher in April 2017, overseeing The Bee and nine other McClatchy papers in the West.

Dell also served a one-year term as the Inland Press Association’s president, from October 2014 to October 2015.

Sacramento-based McClatchy operates 30 daily newspapers in the U.S.

The Casey Award’s namesake, Ralph D. Casey, was the first director of University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism. Award recipients are publishers who bring about positive change “while exemplifying the finest in journalism and community service,” according to the news release.

Dell received an honorary doctoral degree from Sacramento State in 2017.