Released: 03/31/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 31 -- Janis Heaphy, president and publisher of The Sacramento Bee for the past 10 years, has announced her retirement and will be replaced in that post by Cheryl Dell, president and publisher of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) has announced. The change is effective April 14.

"I want to thank Janis for 10 years of outstanding leadership in Sacramento and wish her all the best in the next chapter of her life," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive officer. "At the same time, we are thrilled to welcome Cheryl back home to Northern California, where her talent, energy and experience will serve the newspaper and the community well."

Dell, 48, will lead her third McClatchy newspaper. She has served as president and publisher of The News Tribune since 2004 and from 2000 to 2004 was publisher of the Tri-City Herald, also in Washington.

Dell has held a variety of advertising and marketing management positions during her 25-year newspaper career. Presstime magazine in 1999 included Dell in its annual ranking of "20 Under 40" newspaper people to watch nationwide. She joined McClatchy in 1997 as advertising director of The Modesto Bee and moved to The Fresno Bee in 1999 as vice president of sales and marketing.

"We are indeed fortunate to have someone of Cheryl's considerable abilities ready to step in and lead the Bee," said Frank Whittaker, McClatchy vice president, operations, who oversees the company's California, Florida and Kentucky newspapers. "Having worked at four McClatchy papers, Cheryl is intimately familiar with our culture. I fully expect that she will lead the Bee to even greater successes."

Dell is a native of Modesto, Calif., and a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in communications.

"The Sacramento Bee has served its community -- and the state of California -- with distinction for more than 150 years," Dell said. "I'm proud to be joining the team at such a fine newspaper."

As a publisher, Dell has been heavily involved in the community. In Tacoma, she served on the boards of several civic and charitable groups, including the Pierce County Economic Development Board, the Emergency Food Network Board, the Washington Roundtable, the Washington State History Museum and the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma.

She is married to Brad Dell, director of disaster response for Tacoma's Associated Ministries.

A search for Dell's replacement at The News Tribune is under way.

Heaphy, 56, became the first publisher in The Sacramento Bee's history in 1998. She arrived from the Los Angeles Times, where she spent 22 years rising through the advertising ranks to become the senior vice president of advertising and marketing.

A native of the Midwest, Heaphy earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Miami University of Ohio and began her career as a junior high school English teacher. She has credited that background with giving her an appreciation for language and the skills to coach and mentor others, which helped her throughout her newspaper career.

"Under Janis' direction, The Sacramento Bee earned many of journalism's highest awards, while enthusiastically embracing digital opportunities," Whittaker said. "In many of those years, the Bee achieved record revenues. In the last several years, Janis has made many wise decisions to reposition and restructure the Bee to meet new economic challenges. That's a credit to her and the senior team she built around her."

Heaphy said her retirement was prompted by two factors: The desire to spend more time with her son, Tanner, a high school senior, before he leaves for college in the fall; and her marriage this July to fiance Jim Durham. The couple plan to live in Sun Valley, Idaho.

"These last 10 years at the Bee have been 10 of the most rewarding of my life, primarily due to the growth I experienced both as a professional and as a person," Heaphy said. "I wouldn't trade them for anything and will look back with gratitude and fondness as I hold the memories for a lifetime."

About McClatchy

The McClatchy Company is the third largest newspaper company in the United States, with 30 daily newspapers, approximately 50 non-dailies, and direct marketing and direct mail operations. McClatchy also operates leading local websites in each of its markets which extend its audience reach. The websites offer users information, comprehensive news, advertising, e-commerce and other services. Together with its newspapers and direct marketing products, these interactive operations make McClatchy the leading local media company in each of its premium high growth markets. McClatchy-owned newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The (Raleigh) News & Observer.

McClatchy also has a portfolio of premium digital assets. The company owns and operates McClatchy Interactive, an interactive operation that provides websites with content, publishing tools and software development. McClatchy owns 14.4% of CareerBuilder, the nation's largest online job site, and owns 25.6% of Classified Ventures, a newspaper industry partnership that offers two of the nation's premier classified websites: the auto website, cars.com, and the rental site, apartments.com. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.

SOURCE The McClatchy Company

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