Politics, tragedy and prep sports: The Bee’s top subscriber-read stories of 2025
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Subscribers powered The Bee’s 2025 audience, favoring politics, tragedy and sports.
- Top subscriber stories tracked corruption probes, shootings, closures and policy shifts.
- Data features and polls drew huge engagement; newsroom plans more databases in 2026.
At The Sacramento Bee, subscribers power our journalism. So as the year ends, we’re paying very close attention to what they read in 2025. As usual, stories about California politics, tragedy and high school sports proved big draws, but there are some surprises — such as the closure of a beloved Midtown shop — on our year-end roundup as well.
This “Top 20” list omits stories about the same subject (otherwise, three stories about the November mass shooting in Stockton would be on the list, for example), as well as popular features such as our California state workers’ salary database and polls seeking readers’ opinions about the best high school athletes of the year.
Given the huge numbers on the latter set of features, we’re contemplating additional databases and polls in 2026. Have suggestions about what you’d like to see? Send them my way at cfusco@sacbee.com.
Finally, if you’re not already a Bee subscriber, please consider supporting our diverse team of journalists who drive the news cycle in Greater Sacramento and beyond. If you know of subscribers who read us only in print, please encourage them to activate their digital access so they can read our journalism all day long. Finally, we offer a suite of newsletters — some free, some subscriber-only — to get headlines delivered directly to your email inbox; you can sign up to get them here.
With that, here’s our list of the most subscriber read stories of 2025, plus a bonus list of the five stories that drew the most new subscribers this year:
1. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff arrested in FBI public corruption probe
2. At least 4 killed, 11 injured after shooting at child’s birthday party in Stockton
3. Three critically injured after medevac helicopter crashes on Highway 50 in Sacramento
4. Live updates: Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrates Prop. 50 win at Democrats’ HQ
5. California Sen. Alex Padilla handcuffed, forced out of news conference in LA
6. Speaker Robert Rivas’ press secretary fired for ‘inappropriate’ sexual remarks
7. Kamala Harris announces her decision on running for California governor
8. Sacramento Mexican restaurant ‘524’ is closing after more than 50 years in business
9. About 400,000 Californians due bigger Social Security payments under new federal law
10. Big changes at Social Security? Here’s what’s in store for California’s seniors
11. Twelve arrested by masked federal immigration agents at south Sacramento Home Depot
13. Beloved midtown Sacramento shop, known for ‘total impracticality,’ to close after 47 years
14. Stretch of I-80 to close in Sacramento area for more than 2 days. When and where
15. Six dead, two missing after boat capsizes on Lake Tahoe near DL Bliss State Park
16. Gavin Newsom orders California state workers back to offices in person four days a week
17. Chando’s Tacos abruptly closes all Sacramento restaurant locations
18. Deadly blast at Sacramento home followed feud over property eviction
19. Top CA Republican vowed to cut waste, corruption. His spending says otherwise
20. California’s snowpack sees solid rebound. Here’s how much is saved in the Sierra
Top stories that converted loyal readers into subscribers (omitting multiple stories on the same subject):
1. Meet The Bee’s 2025 Baseball Players of the Year and All-Metro teams
2. California lawmakers ask Gavin Newsom to delay state worker return-to-office order
3. With threat of salary freezes, what’s on the bargaining table for state workers?
4. Audit slams Sacramento NAACP for COVID fraud. Why did county fail to catch it?
5. Bee’s Best: 2024-25 All-Metro girls basketball lineups and Players of the Year
