Newspaper hall of fame to include South Dakota publisher

May 3, 2017

Larry Atkinson, who began working at the Mobridge Tribune in 1981 and went on to become the publisher and owner, was inducted into the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in April.

Atkinson, who grew up in Pollock, is president of Bridge City Publishing Inc., and Missouri Dakota Publishing, Inc., of Mobridge. Besides the Tribune, he also is publisher of the Potter County News at Gettysburg and the West River Eagle at Eagle Butte.

In 1981, the South Dakota State University journalism graduate and U.S. Air Force veteran moved to Mobridge and became news and sports editor at the Tribune. Atkinson started buying stock in the company the next year. In 1993, he purchased the remaining interests in the business. He later purchased the Gettysburg and Eagle Butte newspapers.

Atkinson was president of SDNA in 1999-2000. He serves on the National Newspaper Association Foundation board of directors and for many years was state chairman for NNA.