''The Salinas Californian'', sometimes referred to as ''The Californian'', is a digital and print newspaper published in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

, covering mainly the Salinas Valley. Founded in 1871 as ''The Salinas City Index'', it went through several name changes and assumed its current name during World War II. The paper is part of the

USA Today Network Gannett Company owns over 100 daily newspapers, and nearly 1,000 weekly newspapers. These operations are in 44 U.S. states, one U.S. territory, and six countries. Newspapers United States *''USA Today'' (Tyson's Corner, Virginia) **''USA Today S ...

, owned by

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Speidel Newspapers Inc., in 1977.

History

''The'' ''Salinas Californian’s'' direct precursor ''The Salinas City Index'' first published on March 31. 1871. It changed its name into ''Salinas Weekly Index'' in 1883. As Salinas went through a period of agricultural and financial expansion in the years between 1860 and 1890, the existence of ''The Salinas Weekly Index'', and two other publications, ''Salinas Weekly Democrat'' and ''Salinas Daily Journal,'' was seen as evidence that the city was “one of the most modern for its size in the state” in the late 1800s. The paper changed its name into ''Salinas Index-Journal'' in 1928, after merger with ''The Salinas Daily-Journal'.'' In 1936 the newspaper was bought by Merritt C. Speidel. In 1942, ''Salinas Index-Journal'' merged with ''Salinas Morning Post''. The combined publication was renamed ''The Salinas Californian'' in honor of California's first newspaper, '' The Californian'', published in 1848 in

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

. The paper was renamed ''The Californian'' in 1990, but was still referred to as ''The'' ''Salinas Californian.'' In May 1977,

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Speidel Newspapers Inc., and has remained owner of ''The Salinas Californian'' ever since.

Publication

''The'' ''Salinas Californian'' has issued newspapers from Monday to Saturday since its inception until Sept. 28, 2015. It has never produced a Sunday Edition. It now has a 24-hour, 7-day digital presence and prints newspapers Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday only. The paper serves

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

with a specific emphasis on the Salinas Valley. Its delivery area includes the towns of Salinas, Spreckels, Prunedale, Castroville, Chualar, Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, and King City. Daily delivery is also available in Monterey, Marina, Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, and Pacific Grove. ''The Salinas Californian'' also produced , a Spanish-language weekly paper. Its online edition was launched in September 2000. As of December 2022, the newspaper had no reporters on staff, with all remaining content sourced from other Gannett newspapers, notably the

Record Searchlight The ''Redding Record Searchlight'' is a newspaper serving Redding, California. It has a daily circulation of about 30,000 and hosts a Redding news Web site, Redding.com. History On October 17, 1938, the John P. Scripps Newspaper Group publ ...

in Redding, 300 miles north. ''El Sol'' was also shut down due to a lack of content.

Circulation

In 2015, ''The Salinas Californian’s'' circulation stood between 6,000 and 7,000 during the week, slightly higher on Saturdays.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salinas Californian, The Gannett publications Daily newspapers published in California Mass media in Salinas, California Companies based in Monterey County, California 1871 establishments in California Newspapers established in 1871