More than 30 journalists at the Sacramento Bee are protesting the McClatchy-owned news outlet’s use of stories written by artificial intelligence.
They sent a letter to management stating they would withhold their bylines from stories created by McClatchy’s generative AI product, which produces new pieces using the reporters’ existing work.
McClatchy is the newspaper chain behind outlets such as The Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer, The Kansas City Star and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The journalists at the Sacramento Bee sent the letter to management on March 27.
The newspaper’s executive editor met with union leaders on April 1 to reaffirm that reporters’ bylines would not be added to AI-generated stories.
The reporters said the tool undermines their work. Investigative reporter Ariane Lange, the vice chair of the union at the newspaper, told The Wrap it was “a betrayal of the public’s trust.”
The AI tool allows editors to use the platform to create articles for “target audiences” while also producing video scripts and newsletter versions of stories.
Journalists are stuck either way. McClatchy’s chief of staff said the journalist’s reporting would be used for AI, regardless of whether their name was attached.
In 2025, AI integration caused the Idaho Statesman to falsely report that a local brewery was closing, causing a plunge in the business’s sales.
The union for employees at the Idaho Statesman authorized a strike. Ninety percent of union workers signed on, citing McClatchy’s AI spending as coming at the expense of fair wages for journalists.
