The Sacramento Bee Newsroom ‘Road Show’: Book us now, for free
Our news organization will celebrate its 169th birthday on Feb. 3, and we have a good story to tell about our past, present and future.
So we’re going to tell it, one presentation at a time. And we need your help.
What we’ve termed “The Sacramento Bee Road Show” — a one-hour walk-through of our history, our positive impact throughout our region, the headwinds we face, and how we’re adapting to push through them — is ready to go.
Our first presentation will be to a large group of Bee alumni journalists at our newsroom in East Sacramento. As executive editor, I’ll do most of the talking that evening.
From there, others will join me in taking this show on the road to community groups, chambers of commerce, foundations, businesses, senior centers, neighborhood associations, colleges, high schools … and anyone else willing to learn more about what we do and how we do it.
Difficult for your group to see us in person? We’re happy to present the show and answer your organization’s questions via video. Just fill out this online form, and we’ll figure out the best way to get you on our schedule, whether in-person or online. (If you’re reading this in print, the web address for the form is listed below.)
We want to speak with you directly because, at its core, local journalism is about community betterment.
We report and write stories to spotlight inequity. We keep watch over government spending of taxpayers’ money. We keep communities informed, whether it’s a problem as serious as financial crises facing our public schools to lighter subject matter, such as a new restaurant opening down the block.
Our work drives the conversation statewide. Since fall, The Bee’s Capitol Team has led the way on coverage of the indictment of a political consultant who once served as chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom. More recently, two team members pored over campaign-finance and lobbying records to reveal how two types of accounts in particular — ballot-measure and campaign committees held by ex-lawmakers — are commonly used to shore up political connections and help elected officials live large, while spending little or nothing on the causes those accounts were ostensibly created to support.
Our opinion journalism expands on our reporting, often sparking readers to vote, protest or take other actions — regardless of whether they agree or disagree with a columnist’s or editorial board’s point of view.
Despite this, it seems — at least to this editor — a lot of people can’t stop talking about “the demise of local journalism,” if not The Bee itself.
We acknowledge there are all sorts of challenges local news faces; we’ll touch on these more when we see you in person or on video.
But we also have access to reader data we lacked back when newsprint and ink formed the backbone of our business, and it’s helping us chart a course for the future. Yes, we still love producing the newspaper. But if we don’t continue to evolve digitally — and reach out to you directly to have two-way conversations — the financial support system for local news suffers.
That’s where my partner in this road show adventure, veteran Bee columnist and editor Marcos Bretón, comes in.
We recently changed Marcos’ title from “Opinion Editor” to “Director of Community Outreach & Opinion Journalism.” In this role, he’ll not only promote The Bee’s brand by joining me in presenting our road show, but also by convening Town Hall-style Q&As with newsmakers at our office, or in communities we serve. He’ll also work with reporters on in-person or webinar events built around Bee journalism. And he’ll continue to edit our top columnists and oversee the endorsement process for the 2026 election cycle.
If you have questions about our presentation, you can email me at cfusco@sacbee.com or Marcos at mbreton@sacbee.com.
If you’re reading this in print, type forms.gle/J2wf88H2bZNLgvyV6 into your web browser to coordinate us meeting your group.
We’ve been here for 169 years. We plan on being here for at least 169 more.
We’d be honored if you let us tell you how.
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
