Legendary Sacramento news anchor Stan Atkinson dies at 92

CBS News

26-05-2025

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.
Atkinson 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.