The Press: Valley of the Bees

In California's mountain-bordered Central Valley, a green, 450-mile finger veined by rivers and stretching half the length of the state, nothing buzzes quite so persistently as the Bees. Last week the industrious hum of the three Bee papers (combined circulation 284,755), issuing from hives in Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto, rose louder than ever. For the first time in its 102 years of publication, the Sacramento Bee came out with a Sunday edition.

To 150,050 readers, the new Sunday paper was an unexpected treat. Long accustomed to dull makeup and stodgy writing, they raised eyebrows at the generous use of color, white space,...