The ''Merced Sun-Star'' is a daily broadsheet

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

printed in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It has an estimated circulation of 20,000 copies. The newspaper is published every day except for Sundays.

History

The ''Merced Sun-Star'' evolved from the ''San Joaquin Valley Argus,'' a weekly newspaper based in the nearby city of Snelling which began publishing the paper in 1869. The ''Argus'' merged with the ''Merced Journal'' in 1890 to become the ''Merced County Sun''. In 1925 another consolidation created the ''Merced Sun-Star.'' In 1941, the ''Sun-Star'' was acquired by

Dean Lesher Dean Stanley Lesher (August 4, 1903 – May 13, 1993) was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the ''Contra Costa Times'' and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Life ...

. In 1995, Lesher's heirs sold the ''Sun-Star'' and the ''Madera Tribune'' to US Media, later renamed Pacific-Sierra Publishing. The newspaper was acquired by

The McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states an ...

in 2004. Currently, the ''Sun-Star'' has more than 120 employees that prepare both a print newspaper and an online version.

Ownership

The ''Merced Sun-Star'' is owned by

, which purchased it in 2004 along with five non-dailes in Atwater, Chowchilla, Livingston, Los Banos, and Oakhurst. The paper is the county's only daily newspaper, although it is not the county's only newspaper. Merced County is also served by the ''

Merced County Times ''Merced County Times'' is a weekly newspaper serving Merced County in California, USA. Founded in 1964, the ''Times'' has a circulation of 5,600 and is published every Thursday. ''Merced County Times'' is owned by Mid Valley Publications, an emp ...

'', a weekly paper published each Thursday by Mid-Valley Publications.

Awards

The newspaper has become known for its investigative journalism. A series of articles exposing wrongdoing by the local district attorney ended in the DA's resignation and garnered the newspaper a national Associated Press Managing Editors Association public service award. The stories also won a California First Amendment Coalition Beacon Award, among other distinctions. The newspaper won its second APME award (this one in the First Amendment category) in 2009 after it exposed a series of racist emails sent by an Atwater city councilman.

Online newspaper

The ''Sun-Star'' also has an online edition offering the latest news, sports, weather and information affecting Merced and Mariposa counties.

Weekly newspapers

The ''Merced Sun-Star'' also publishes the: *''Atwater Signal'' *''Chowchilla News'' *''Livingston Chronicle''

References

External links

Official ''Merced Sun-Star'' websiteofficial ''Merced Sun-Star'' mobile website
{{Merced County, California Daily newspapers published in California Merced, California Mass media in Merced County, California McClatchy publications Publications established in 1869 1869 establishments in California Companies based in Merced County, California