FRESNO (AP) ― The publisher of the Fresno Bee is stepping down to take over co-ownership of a newspaper in Tracy.
Will Fleet announced his departure to Bee employees on Tuesday. His last day is Oct. 31.
Fleet and Ralph Alldredge bought the 114-year old Tracy Press in San Joaquin County out of bankruptcy. It publishes weekly.
Alldredge also owns the Calaveras Enterprise and was the 2011-2012 president of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Fleet was named publisher of the Bee in 2008. He told staff members the purchase shows that he believes in the future of print newspapers. The Bee’s vice president for circulation, Tom Cullinan, will serve as interim publisher during the search for Fleet’s replacement.
In 2010, the Tracy Press had a weekly circulation of 19,000.