San Luis Obispo County is located on California's Central Coast, approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Tribune is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of interest to the local San Luis Obispo community members. It is an important part of The Tribune’s culture to support the local community. The Tribune supports numerous community events and organizations, such as the California Mid-State Fair, Arroyo Grande Strawberry Festival, the Paso Robles Wine Festival, Cal Poly Athletics, and the San Luis Obispo Symphony. The Tribune is also very involved with organizations such as the Food Bank, The Literacy Council, the Alzheimer's Association, the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association, and the American Cancer Society. Many of The Tribune's employees support the community as members of local service clubs such as Rotary and local chambers of commerce.

In 2020, McClatchy transitioned to private ownership when it was acquired by Chatham Asset Management. The Chatham acquisition marked the beginning of a new era of opportunity for McClatchy, strengthening the Company's financial position and enabling it to build on its 150-plus year history of independent, community-focused journalism by investing in local newsrooms.