Legendary Sacramento news anchor Stan Atkinson dies at 92
Sacramento news legend Stan Atkinson has died at the age of 92, according to his family.
Atkinson's Sacramento TV career stretched for nearly four decades at KCRA and KOVR. He first started his career thinking he would find success in the radio industry, but that changed quickly.
"They said, 'You're going back to work in the TV station.' I said, 'I can't do that, I don't have a coat and tie,'" he said in an interview on Primetime Sacramento in March of 2024.
This marked the beginning of his TV career, sitting behind the anchor desk at KCRA before moving to KOVR.
Atkinson reported from multiple wars, including Cambodia, Afghanistan and Serbia.
He was once grazed by a sniper's bullet.
"All of a sudden, I hear his gunfire, and all of a sudden, I feel a 30-[caliber] part the hair on the back of my neck," he said. "It didn't hit me, but it came so close."
One of his first stories exposed appalling conditions at a hospital in Auburn.
Atkinson described the Sacramento area as "special," which made it easy for him to stay in the market.
He retired from TV in 1999.
Atkinson was the grandfather of 14 and the great-grandfather of 18. A private, family-only memorial service is planned.
"You know he loved truth."
Stan Atkinson's son, Mike Atkinson, spoke to CBS Sacramento about his father's passing.
Mike says his father was his best friend. He attributed his father's tenacity and decades-long career to truth.
"You know he loved truth," he said. "And I think this comes back to how much he respected the viewers because he felt like they needed to know."
Mike said his father's decision to retire was dramatic for him and the whole family.
"Yes, very much so," he said. "And I think all of us were more concerned for him for what he would do. How could he even live day to day with this crazy lifestyle he had lived for decades, going to bed at two or three in the morning because he'd go out for dinner after the 11 o'clock?"
Mike said his father would often go to Paragary's or Fuel and Transportation after the newscasts for dinner.
He said his father had been living at Mercy McMahan Terrace for the past three years and knew everyone on the staff and all about their hobbies and lives because he never stopped being curious and engaging with people.
