Stan Atkinson was a television news reporter and anchor for over 45 years, mostly in the Sacramento area, including many years as the principal news anchor for KCRA, Channel 3, in Sacramento. and then principal news anchor for KOVR from 1994 until his retirement in 1999. He is considered one of the most popular news figures in Sacramento, the nation's 19th-largest television market, for more than 20 years. The Sacramento Bee called him "The Man Who Owns Sacramento."