Released: 01/25/2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 25 -- SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 25 - The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) today reported fourth quarter 2005 earnings of $45.4 million, or 97 cents per share, compared to earnings of $47.8 million, or $1.02 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2005 were $309.8 million, up 0.5% from 2004 fourth quarter revenues of $308.2 million, with advertising revenues of $263.4 million, up 1.1%, and circulation revenues of $39.9 million, down 3.8%.

Earnings for full year 2005 were a record $160.5 million, or $3.42 per share, and include $1.0 million in third quarter legal costs related to defending a lawsuit filed against the company and its Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. That lawsuit has since been dismissed. Earnings in 2004 were $3.33 per share and included a $3.7 million charge related to the company's debt refinancing in the second quarter of 2004. Adjusted for the after-tax effect of these two items, earnings per share were $3.43 in 2005 and were $3.38 in 2004.

Revenues for the full year 2005 were $1.19 billion, up 2.0% from 2004 revenues of $1.16 billion. Advertising revenues were $1.0 billion, up 2.8%, and circulation revenues were $162.4 million, down 2.5%.

Commenting on the results, Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "December advertising, which was down 1.0%, resulted in fourth quarter results below our expectations. Christmas was on a Sunday in 2005, which had a greater than expected negative impact on retail and classified advertising during the last weekend of our fiscal year. In addition, our California papers had held up well in automotive advertising, but the industry-wide decline in this category reached them in the fourth quarter as well."

"Nonetheless," said Pruitt, "2005 was a solid year for the company. We reported record revenues and earnings. Our online advertising grew 38.3% and direct marketing advertising was up 9.6%. We continued to outperform the industry in circulation and in advertising. In fact, 2005 was the fifth consecutive year we have outperformed the industry in advertising revenue growth.

"Advertising spending continues to be somewhat choppy in our markets, but we do not view December's results as indicative of a trend in advertising performance going forward. We believe advertising will remain strong in our real estate and employment classified categories, on our Internet sites, and in direct marketing. We expect overall advertising revenue growth in the low-to-mid single digits in the first quarter, despite the toughest comparisons we will face in 2006."

Pat Talamantes, McClatchy's chief financial officer, said, "We ended the year with debt of $154.2 million, down $113 million from year-end 2004. We increased debt in early 2006 to make a $40 million voluntary contribution to the company's pension plans. Capital expenditures totaled $54.5 million in 2005, and we expect capital expenditures to be about $62 million in 2006."

The company's statistical report, which summarizes its revenue performance for December and full year 2005, follows, along with a supplemental report of advertising revenue data by category.

At noon Eastern time today, McClatchy will review its results in a conference call (877-278-1205 pass code 4097985) and webcast ( http://www.mcclatchy.com/ ). The webcast will be archived at McClatchy's website.

The McClatchy Company, headquartered in Sacramento, California, is a leading newspaper and Internet publisher. It publishes 12 daily and 17 non-daily newspapers located in western coastal states, North and South Carolina, and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. McClatchy has daily circulation of 1.4 million and Sunday circulation of 1.8 million. McClatchy's newspapers include, among others, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee and The Modesto Bee in California, The News&Observer (Raleigh, NC), The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) and the Anchorage Daily News.

McClatchy also operates leading local websites in each of its daily newspaper markets, offering readers information, comprehensive news, advertising, e-commerce and other services, and owns and operates McClatchy Interactive, an interactive operation that provides websites with content, publishing tools and software development. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. These risks and uncertainties include national and local economic conditions that could affect advertising and circulation rates and volumes, changes in interest rates and/or newsprint prices, increased competition in our markets, the impact of any litigation or potential litigation, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's publicly filed documents, including the Company's December 26, 2004 report on form 10-K and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.

The attached income statement contains a reconciliation of the Non-GAAP items referred to in this press release.

THE McCLATCHY COMPANY

SUMMARY OF UNAUDITED RESULTS

(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER-SHARE AMOUNTS)

Three months ended           Year Ended
December 25, December 26, December 25,    December 26,
2005         2004        2005             2004
Revenues - net      $309,815    $308,151   $1,186,115      $1,163,376
Operating expenses:
Compensation        120,763     119,954      482,509         471,289
Newsprint
and supplements     41,022      39,895      154,672         151,134
Depreciation and
amortization        16,641      16,758       65,769          66,532
Other operating
expenses            56,333      51,857      213,164         205,112
Total operating
expenses            234,759     228,464      916,114         894,067
Operating income      75,056      79,687      270,001         269,309
Interest expense    (1,822)     (1,638)      (7,705)          (9,095)
Refinancing
related charges         --          --           --          (3,737)
Partnership income      281         387          712             929
Other non-operating
income - net            5         217          219             155
Income before
taxes              73,520      78,653      263,227         257,561
Income tax
provision          28,139      30,873      102,708         101,685
Net income          $ 45,381    $ 47,780     $160,519        $155,876
Net income per common share:
Basic                 $0.97       $1.03        $3.44           $3.36
Diluted               $0.97       $1.02        $3.42           $3.33
Weighted average common shares:
Basic                46,680      46,448       46,606          46,382
Diluted              46,996      46,868       46,996          46,815
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Amounts
Net Income          $ 45,381    $ 47,780     $160,519        $155,876
Certain items net
of tax effects:
Third quarter
circulation
litigation expense     --          --          648              --
Refinancing related
charge                 --          --           --           2,253
Non-GAAP net
income             $ 45,381    $ 47,780     $161,167        $158,129
Non-GAAP diluted
per share amounts     $0.97       $1.02        $3.43           $3.38
The McClatchy Company
Consolidated Statistical Report
(In thousands, except for preprints)
December              December Year-to-Date
Revenues - Net:    2005      2004  % Change   2005      2004 % Change
Advertising
California     $30,844   $30,305   1.8%   $392,158   $372,232  5.4%
Minneapolis     24,062    25,145  -4.3%    308,476    309,506 -0.3%
Carolinas       11,902    12,161  -2.1%    159,983    155,616  2.8%
Northwest       10,892    10,846   0.4%    139,649    135,454  3.1%
Total
Advertising    $77,700   $78,457  -1.0% $1,000,266   $972,808  2.8%
Circulation      11,970    12,570  -4.8%    162,395    166,623 -2.5%
Other             2,039     1,957   4.2%     23,454     23,945 -2.1%
Total Revenue  $91,709   $92,984  -1.4% $1,186,115 $1,163,376  2.0%
Average Paid Circulation:*
Daily           1,419.8   1,436.9  -1.2%    1,401.8    1,419.4 -1.2%
Sunday          1,743.8   1,836.1  -5.0%    1,787.7    1,847.2 -3.2%
Community
Newspapers        48.2      51.7  -6.8%       50.9       52.7 -3.4%
*Reflects average paid circulation based upon number of days in period.
Does not reflect ABC reported figures.
Full Run ROP
Retail           490.0     522.3  -6.2%    5,500.2    5,679.0 -3.1%
National         101.1      96.9   4.3%    1,183.5    1,204.3 -1.7%
Classified       513.6     512.6   0.2%    7,801.3    7,806.5 -0.1%
Total         1,104.7   1,131.8  -2.4%   14,485.0   14,689.8 -1.4%
Millions of
Preprints
Distributed     390.2     352.4  10.7%    3,607.6    3,458.1  4.3%
California:
The Sacramento
Bee             185.1     191.0  -3.1%    2,568.3    2,586.4 -0.7%
The Fresno Bee   111.8     108.3   3.2%    1,307.3    1,302.7  0.4%
The Modesto Bee  107.0      97.3  10.0%    1,304.9    1,298.7  0.5%
Merced Sun-Star   55.1      43.9  25.5%      652.1      599.6  8.8%
Star Tribune,
Minneapolis      138.4     154.8 -10.6%    1,766.5    1,894.9 -6.8%
Northwest:
The News Tribune,
Tacoma           99.8     109.7  -9.0%    1,215.7    1,266.3 -4.0%
Anchorage
Daily News       63.4      68.6  -7.6%      951.5      947.2  0.5%
Tri-City Herald   68.5      68.0   0.7%      902.1      842.7  7.0%
Carolinas:
The News
& Observer,
Raleigh        130.2     140.0  -7.0%    1,828.7    1,899.6 -3.7%
South Carolina
Dailies         145.4     150.2  -3.2%    1,987.9    2,051.7 -3.1%
Total       1,104.7   1,131.8  -2.4%   14,485.0   14,689.8 -1.4%
The McClatchy Company
Supplemental Advertising Revenue Data
By Category for the Periods Ending December 25, 2005
December        Qtr 4      December Year-to-Date
%       % Change   %     % Change     %     % Change
Change     Print   Change   Print     Change    Print
Only             Only                Only
Advertising categories:
Retail             (4.8)     (5.4)   (2.2)    (2.9)     (0.0)   (0.3)
National             5.2       5.3     1.4      1.4     (1.0)   (1.1)
Classified Total     1.4     (2.3)     3.9      0.7       5.9     2.5
Auto             (19.6)    (23.1)  (17.9)   (20.8)    (10.4)  (12.7)
Real Estate        19.0      17.5    22.3     20.9      18.3    16.1
Employment          8.9       3.2    11.2      6.4      13.7     8.5
Direct Marketing    11.2      11.2    12.4     12.4       9.6     9.6
Total advertising
growth            (1.0)     (2.4)     1.1    (0.3)       2.8     1.3

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