Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 14, 2026

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your use and access of any McClatchy websites, mobile applications, or other digital platforms (the “Platform(s)”) that include a link to these Terms, as well as any services and features available or enabled on such Platforms, including, but not limited to, Content, community engagement, and access to our digital replicas of our print products (each a “Service”; collectively, the “Services”).As used in these Terms, “McClatchy” shall refer to all publications and brands, including all subsidiaries and affiliates, of McClatchy Media Company, LLC.Your use of the Services is also governed by the McClatchy's Privacy Policy, located here: McClatchy Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference (the “Privacy Policy”). The Privacy Policy explains McClatchy's position on information gathering and how it intends to use and share any information it collects. Read the Privacy Policy carefully as you are agreeing to it when you agree to these Terms.

NOTE: SECTIONS 9.3 & 9.4 OF THESE TERMS CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER, RESPECTIVELY, THAT AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THESE PROVISIONS CAREFULLY.

1. Your Agreement with McClatchy

You understand and agree that by visiting, accessing or using any Services you are accepting these Terms without modification. If you do not agree with these Terms, your only option is to discontinue your use of the Services.

In agreeing with these Terms, you represent and warrant that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age or otherwise capable of entering into and performing legal agreements, or have the consent of a parent or legal guardian.

2. Revisions to the Terms

These Terms may be revised by McClatchy from time to time and your continued use of the Services means you agree to the revisions without modification.

Material revisions to these Terms will be indicated by an updated effective date at the top left corner of this page and by a notice posted on the homepage of each Platform.

Should you object to any such revisions to these Terms or become dissatisfied with the Services in any way, your only recourse is to immediately terminate your membership or discontinue use of the Services. Otherwise, continuing to use the Services after the effective date means that you agree to be bound by any and all revisions.

3. Account Registration

McClatchy may require registration of an account in order to access certain Services, such as newsletters and Content (as defined in Section 4). In such case, any user who has registered on any Platform, shall be referred to as a “Registered User” under these Terms. Generally, a paid subscription to the applicable Platform is not necessary to become a Registered User, but access to certain special Content, offers, services and features on the Platform may require users to be both a subscriber and register an account.

If you are a paid subscriber to any of the Platforms offered by McClatchy, your subscription is governed by the “Terms of Subscription” available on the applicable website and provided upon subscribing to the Platform.

If you are a Registered User, you accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account whether or not you expressly authorize such activities. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for restricting access to your computer so others may not access the Services using your username or account in whole or in part. You will not compromise, or attempt to compromise, the security of your account. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, McClatchy may terminate registration and deny access to the Services to any person for any reason, in McClatchy's sole discretion, including for violation of these Terms. Such termination or denial of access shall be in addition to any remedies available to McClatchy in law and equity.

4. The Content

“Content” consists of material published on the Platforms and through McClatchy’s collaborative relationships with third-party websites or software, including articles, photos, Content Feeds, graphics, forum postings, audio and video clips, trademarks, service marks, and other content.

4.1 Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Rights

Content published on the Platforms and through McClatchy’s collaborative relationships with third-party content and related service providers, and syndication services (“Content Providers”), is copyrighted by McClatchy, or by the Content Providers who have licensed their content for use on the Platforms. Additionally, the Content as a whole is protected by copyright as a collective work owned by McClatchy.

You may not infringe or misappropriate any of the intellectual property in and to the Content accessible through the Platforms. This means you agree not to copy, modify, publish, transmit, create derivative works (including, without limitation, summaries, analyses and reports, or in connection with artificial intelligence models or tools) from, transfer, sell or display the Content, including logos, trademarks or service marks, or otherwise violate the proprietary rights of McClatchy or others except as expressly permitted herein. You will cooperate promptly and completely with any reasonable request by McClatchy related to an investigation of infringement of copyright or other proprietary rights.

4.2 License Grant to Access the Content

McClatchy grants you permission to access the Platforms and view the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You may electronically store a reasonable portion of any individual element of Content (for example, a limited section of a text article) for your personal, non-commercial use by making a single electronic copy on your computer's hard drive, or a single copy on a disk or other media or a single copy in printed form. You agree that you will not store or archive a significant portion of the Content or create a database using the Content, and you further agree that you will not download, store or archive individual image or video files as stand-alone files.

4.3 Reuse & Republication of Content

You will not reuse, republish or otherwise distribute the Content or any modified or altered versions of it (including derivative works), whether over the World Wide Web or otherwise, and whether or not for payment, without the express written permission of McClatchy or a third-party copyright holder, except that in some cases you may use individual stories that appear on the Platforms as specifically designated by its functionality (e.g., e-mail a story to a friend or purchase the rights to reproduce a story for other use). In such cases, we communicate such rights to you directly in the applicable portion of the Content.To obtain permission to reuse or republish McClatchy’s Content in any format, please visit www.mcclatchyreprints.com

McClatchy cannot grant permission to reuse or republish Content from other Content Providers, however, these Content Providers are intended third party beneficiaries of these Terms and they may exercise all rights and remedies available to them. Please contact them directly to obtain permission.

4.4 Content Feeds

McClatchy may offer content feeds, consisting of a selection of headlines, summaries, text blurbs, and links to full stories, which are delivered using Really Simple Syndication, XML, or other syndication technology ("Content Feed(s)"). To the extent that McClatchy elects to offer Content Feeds(s), McClatchy grants you a revocable, nontransferable, non-sublicensable, royalty-free, nonexclusive license to display the Content Feeds on your personal website or blog ("Personal Site"). The license granted in this Section 4.4 expressly excludes any Content not included in the Content Feed(s) and unless consented to in writing by McClatchy, excludes your ability to, directly or indirectly: (a) sell, modify, edit, translate, download, copy, publish, transmit, distribute, archive for future access after removal from your Personal Site, or otherwise disseminate the Content Feed(s); (b) delete or fail to display any promotional taglines included in the Content Feed(s); or (c) rent, lease, or otherwise transfer rights to any Content Feeds. If you use any Content Feed, you warrant that your Personal Site does not infringe the intellectual property of any third parties and violates no applicable law.

Additionally, you are not permitted to (a) display the name, logo, trademark or other identifier of another person on your Personal Site in such a manner as to give the viewer the impression that such other person is connected to McClatchy; (b) incorporate any Content Feeds on any site containing nudity or pornographic material, that displays material that exploits children under the age of 18, that promotes or provides instructional information about illegal activities or physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or that portrays McClatchy in any manner that is obscene, defamatory, libelous, invasive of personal privacy or misleading; and/or (c) display the Content Feed in a manner that does not allow for successful linking and redirection to, and delivery of, the applicable Platform. 

4.5. User-Submitted Content

If enabled on the applicable Platform, you may be able to submit or to otherwise make available messages, emails, photographs, videos and other content for display on the Platforms ("User Content"). You are solely responsible for User Content that you submit and ensuring your conduct is in conformance with any community guidelines provided by McClatchy on the applicable Platform. McClatchy has no responsibility for the User Content displayed on the Platforms or the conduct of users that participate in this feature. Without limiting any of its rights in law and equity, McClatchy reserves the right to remove any User Content for any reason in its sole discretion including any User Content that it believes may violate these Terms, or any copyright or third-party rights.

By submitting or otherwise making available any User Content, you automatically grant McClatchy a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable (through multiple tiers), license to use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, create derivative works of, distribute, transfer or sell any such content, for any purpose, including commercial purposes and in connection with advertising for the sole benefit of McClatchy, in any type of media or in any form now known or later developed, without any payment to you. In addition, you automatically waive and give up any claim that any use of such content violates any of your rights, including privacy rights, publicity rights, moral rights or any other right, including the right to approve the way McClatchy uses such User Content. You also grant McClatchy the right to use any material, information, ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you provide, submit, or otherwise make available on the Platform any purpose whatsoever, including, without limitation, commercial purposes.

By submitting User Content, you warrant and represent that you are the owner of all intellectual property rights in and to the User Content or that you otherwise have all sufficient rights to grant the license above and that the User Content infringes no third-party right of privacy, right of publicity, or any other third-party right or proprietary interest.

4.6. Links in Content & Third Party Interactions

The Content may contain links to third-party websites, services, resources, and advertisers (collectively, “Outside Links”). McClatchy is not responsible for the availability of these Outside Links, its contents, or privacy practices and you accept any risks associated with accessing these Outside Links. You should familiarize yourself with the terms and privacy policies of those Outside Links you visit.

McClatchy may provide Content that contains Outside Links to purchase certain products and/or services from third parties (“Affiliate Links”). McClatchy is not responsible for the quality, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or any other aspect of these products and services purchased through these Affiliate Links. It is your responsibility to read and understand the terms of service and privacy policies of these third parties.

Your interactions with third parties, including Content Providers and advertisers, found on or through the Services, including payment and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third parties. You accept all risk with any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties. McClatchy shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.

5. Digital Millennium Copyright Act

McClatchy respects the copyrights of others and expects its users to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), McClatchy will respond expeditiously to notices of alleged copyright infringement that are duly reported to our designated copyright agent identified in the notice below. We will disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers.

If you believe that McClatchy or any user of the Services has infringed your copyright, please notify our copyright agent, and provide the following information:

1. An identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;

2. An identification of the material on the Platforms that you claim is infringing or is subject to infringing activity that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, with enough detail (including without limitation the URL of the material) to allow us to locate the material on our site;

3. Your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

4. A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law;

5. A statement by you declaring that the above information in your notice is accurate, made under penalty of perjury, and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright interest involved; and

6. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

The designated copyright agent is McClatchy’s General Counsel, who can be reached as follows: legal@mcclatchy.com with the subject line “DMCA Take Down Notice,” by regular mail to 1601 Alhambra Boulevard, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816, ATTN: General Counsel, or (916) 321-1908. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section, your DMCA notice may not be valid.

6. Prohibited Conduct

You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Services to take any action that could harm McClatchy or any third party, interfere with McClatchy’s provision of the Services, or use the Services in a manner that violates any laws. For example, and without limitation, you may not:

1. Provide any information that is false, misleading or inaccurate.

2. Use any portion of the Services for any unlawful purpose or otherwise fail to comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations.

3. Use any portion of the Services for uploading, posting, e-mailing, transmitting or otherwise making available User Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party.

4. Use any portion of the Services for uploading, posting, e-mailing, transmitting or otherwise making available User Content that is harmful to minors in any way, harassing, harmful, threatening, abusive, vulgar, obscene, defamatory, libelous, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.

5. Use any portion of the Services for uploading, posting, e-mailing, transmitting or otherwise making available junk mail, commercial advertisements, or any other form of commercial solicitation.

6. Interfere with any other person's use of or the proper functioning of the Platforms. 

7. Misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person.

8. Hold yourself out as sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with McClatchy. 

9. Modify, translate, adapt, edit, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any software programs used by McClatchy in connection with the Services. 

10. Use or launch any automated means including spiders, robots, crawlers, scrapers and the like, to download or copy data or content from the Platforms.

11. Use any portion of the Services, including Content, in connection with any machine learning and/or artificial intelligence model or tool, including, without limitation (i) to train or develop any such model or tool, or (ii) to generate text, images, or any other material, output, or works using any such model or tool.

12. Distribute any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that are designed or intended to: (i) disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of the Platforms, any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment used in connection therewith; or (ii) damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any third party.

13. Take any action that: (i) imposes or may impose, in McClatchy's sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on its infrastructure; (ii) interferes or attempts to interfere with the proper working of the Platforms; or (iii) disrupts or diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality of the Platforms.

Please refer to the “Community Guidelines” available on the applicable Platform for additional information about acceptable conduct and how to report violations.

7. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

7.1. Disclaimer

While McClatchy strives for accuracy, it does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information or database on our Platforms. McClatchy also does not warrant or guarantee that any files available for downloading will be free of defects. McClatchy, its Content Providers, and/or other third parties it uses to provide the Service will be liable in any way to you for delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in material published on the Platforms.

The Services, including the Content, on the Platforms are subject to change without notice. The inclusion of a Service on the Platforms at a particular time does not imply or warrant that the Service will be available at any time.

While we take reasonable steps to ensure that no viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other destructive properties are present, the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Platforms and the accuracy and completeness of any information is with you.

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed through forums, comment sections, blogs, and any other area where User Content is displayed on the Platforms, represent the individual's own views and are not necessarily those of McClatchy. McClatchy does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice and opinions made by anyone other than authorized McClatchy spokespersons.

Any investment decisions or other actions that users take based on information available by McClatchy on the Platforms should first be reviewed by a competent financial adviser or other professional. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT OR ANY OTHER SERVICE OR PRODUCT ON OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE (INCLUDING ANY LINK TO ANOTHER WEB SITE OR RESOURCE).

7.2. Limitation of Liability

In no event will McClatchy be liable for (i) any incidental, consequential, or indirect damages (including, but not limited to, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of programs or information, and the like) arising out of the use of or inability to use the Platform, or any Services provided by McClatchy, even if McClatchy has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or (ii) any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies published on the Platforms. IN NO EVENT WILL McClatchy’s AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR THE SITE, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY), WARRANTY OR OTHERWISE, EXCEED $100.

SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

8. Indemnity

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless McClatchy from: (i) your use of and access of the Platforms and Services; (ii) your violation of any of these Terms; (iii) your violation of any third-party right including any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or privacy right related to any User Content submitted by you (if applicable) or your use of the website. This defense and indemnification obligation will survive the term and your use of the Services.

9. Miscellaneous

9.1. Termination

We may terminate these Terms, your account, your access to the Platforms, or your use of the Services, at any time with or without notice to you. You may terminate these Terms or your account by: (a) discontinuing your use of the Services and (b) destroying and removing all copies of Content from your Personal Site (if any) and that is otherwise in your possession and control.

9.2. Jurisdiction

This agreement between McClatchy and its users will be governed and interpreted under the laws of the state of New York. The state courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in have jurisdiction in any dispute arising from these Terms of Service.

In the event that any provision of these Terms is found to be in conflict with the law, such provision shall be restated to reflect the original intent, and all other terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect.

9.3. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

You and McClatchy agree to the following dispute resolution process for any legal controversy or legal claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Platforms, any subscription, or any other aspect of our relationship (“Subject Legal Claim").

In an attempt to find the quickest and most efficient resolution of our issues, you and McClatchy agree to first discuss any issue informally for at least 30 days. To do that, please send your full name and contact information, your concern and your proposed solution by email to us at: customerservice@mcclatchy.com. If we need to discuss an issue with you, we will contact you using the email or mailing address on your account.

If we do not reach an agreed upon solution after our discussions for at least 30 days, you and McClatchy agree that any Subject Legal Claim that either of us may have must be resolved through binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association using its Consumer Arbitration Rules. There are two limited exceptions to this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration provision: (i) either party may pursue in small claims court any action that is within that jurisdiction, as long as the case proceeds on an individual basis only; (ii) either party may seek to enforce its patents, trademarks, copyrights or trade secrets in an appropriate state or federal court.

To help resolve any issues between us promptly and directly, you and McClatchy agree to begin any arbitration within one year after a Subject Legal Claim arises; otherwise, the Subject Legal Claim is waived. You and McClatchy also agree to arbitrate in each of our individual capacities only, not as a representative or member of a class, and each of us expressly waives any right to file a class action or seek relief on a class basis. All arbitration hearings will be held in Sacramento, California. The parties agree that this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration provision is subject to, and will be governed and enforced under, the Federal Arbitration Act.

You may download a form Notice to initiate arbitration at www.adr.org.  If you initiate the arbitration, your arbitration fees will be limited to the filing fee set forth in the AAA's Consumer Rules. It is important that you understand that the arbitrator's decision will be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. In the event of any dispute with regard to this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to receive from the non-prevailing party and the non-prevailing party shall pay upon demand all reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the prevailing party.

9.4. Class Action Waiver

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, WE EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PURSUE DISPUTES ON A CLASSWIDE BASIS; THAT IS, TO EITHER JOIN A CLAIM WITH THE CLAIM OF ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY, OR ASSERT A CLAIM IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF ANYONE ELSE IN ANY LAWSUIT, ARBITRATION OR OTHER PROCEEDING.

9.5. Severability

If any provision of these Terms are deemed unlawful, void or for any reason, unenforceable, by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

9.6. Complete Agreement

These Terms, including the Privacy Policy, represents the complete agreement concerning the subject matter hereof between the parties and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings between them, whether written or oral.

9.7. Force Majeure

Neither party will be liable for any failure to perform any obligation (other than payment obligations) hereunder, or from any delay in the performance thereof, due to causes beyond its control, including industrial disputes of whatever nature, acts of God, public enemy, acts of government, failure of telecommunications, fire or other casualty.

9.8. Void Where Prohibited by Law

These Terms are void where prohibited by law, and the right to access McClatchy is revoked in such jurisdictions.

9.9. Independent Contractors

The parties hereto are independent contractors, and these Terms creates no partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, sales representative or employment relationship between the parties. You have no authority to make or accept any offers or representations on our behalf and you shall not make any statement, on your Personal Site (if any) or otherwise, that conflicts with these Terms of Service.

10. Ongoing Subscription & Cancellation

If you have subscribed to a Platform, your subscription will continue in effect after your initial subscription term unless and until you cancel your subscription. You must cancel your subscription before it renews in order to avoid any additional charges, as detailed in the applicable Platform’s Terms of Subscription. We will bill the entire subscription term amount, plus any applicable fees or taxes, at the beginning of each subscription term. Any cancellation will take effect at the end of the then-current subscription term. We do not provide pro-rata refunds, even if you cancel your subscription early. Your subscriber benefits will remain available to you until termination takes effect. You can cancel your subscription by calling the Customer Service phone number or online as further described in the applicable Platform’s Terms of Subscription.