[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11302]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF JAMES McCLATCHY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 14, 2006

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in tribute to Jim McClatchy, a 
legend within the newspaper business who helped set the standards for 
journalism in northern California and across the globe. As his family 
and friends gather to honor and remember his life at a funeral service 
next week, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Jim McClatchy for 
his service to our Nation, to journalism and to the Sacramento 
community.
  The son of C.K. and Phebe McClatchy, Jim McClatchy was born into a 
family steeped in journalistic tradition. Early on it was clear he 
would follow his great-grandfather, grandfather and father into the 
newspaper business. His studies at Stanford University were interrupted 
by World War II where Jim served our Nation in the Army Air Corps. Jim 
returned from World War II, completed his Stanford education and went 
on to earn a Master's in Journalism from Columbia University.
  Jim made his mark as a hard-working reporter with both the Sacramento 
Bee and the Fresno Bee. Early in his career, he covered subjects 
ranging from State politics to education and advanced through the ranks 
to the Bee's Washington Bureau where he covered the 1956 presidential 
election and Congress. While serving the public as a reporter, Jim 
continued to serve our Nation in the Army Reserves and was called to 
duty during the Korean War.
  In 1980, Jim became Chairman of the Board of McClatchy Newspapers and 
in 1987 he was elevated to Publisher. He served on the company's board 
until his retirement in 2004. Throughout his tenure, McClatchy 
newspapers received numerous Pulitzer Prizes, advancing the family's 
commitment to excellence in journalism.
  Jim's commitment extended beyond Sacramento and the McClatchy family 
of papers to strengthening the international free press. Jim worked 
with the Inter American Press Association in 1994 to help write the 
Declaration of Chapultepec, a document that established the role of a 
free press in democratic societies. Dozens of heads of state signed the 
Declaration of Chapultepec, including President Clinton.
  Closer to home, Jim was instrumental in actively planning the Central 
Valley's future. He led the drive to create Valley Vision, a non-profit 
that facilitates discussions to solve regional problems. Jim also 
created an endowment in the name of his mother to support the classics 
and bilingual education at California State University, Fresno, where 
he received an honorary doctorate just weeks before his passing.
  Mr. Speaker, as Jim McClatchy's family, friends and colleagues gather 
to honor his legacy, I am privileged to request that the U.S. House of 
Representatives commemorate his life as a patriot, a community servant 
and man who always strove for the highest standards of journalistic 
integrity.

                          ____________________