Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor known for his ability to anchor hours of breaking news coverage without taking a break, is finally ready for a breather.
The NBC News veteran plans to step away in early summer from his anchor duties on “NBC Nightly News,” which he has held since 2015. After that, he plans to devote himself full time to NBC News’ “Dateline,” which he has anchored since 2011.
“After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of ‘Nightly News.’ It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do,” Holt said in a memo to staffers Monday. “But before we play the walk off music, I have another announcement. I’m excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of ‘Dateline NBC,’ but for the first time in a full time capacity whereby I will be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting ‘Dateline ‘hours on subjects I care deeply about. I am thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at Dateline as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places.”
Holt’s exit is the latest in a parade of departures of senior TV-news personnel in recent months as the industry grapples with new economic pressures brought about by the rise of streaming, and contends with a harsh climate for media outlets in the early days of the second Trump administration. Chuck Todd, the veteran political director and “Meet the Press” moderator, left NBC News in January, and Andrea Mitchell, the longtime international affairs and politics reporter, recently ended her decades-long tenure on MSNBC’s daytime schedule. Hoda Kotb recently left her duties at NBC News’ “Today.”
NBC News isn’t the only news outlet parting ways with veterans. Neil Cavuto recently exited Fox News Channel, where he has held forth since 1996, and Chris Wallace parted ways with CNN after a short tenure.
Holt has been a calming presence at NBC News, where his unflappable and low-key demeanor helped the news division move forward after a chaotic moment. He took over “Nightly” duties after his predecessor, Brian Williams, was removed following scrutiny of claims the latter made about the details of a reporting trip to Iraq.
Holt has tried to stretch new muscles, always conscious that traditional TV viewers, once wed to watching evening news after coming home from work on a set in the living or family room, were interacting with such content in different ways. ““A year or two from now, people might be watching us on their toaster,” Holt told Variety in 2015, “and we’ve got to be there to put butter on the bread.”
In 2020, he launched a “Kids’ Edition” of “Nightly.” During some broadcasts, Holt talked to Sesame Street characters about mental health awareness, and looked at the birth of a rare antelope at the Oregon Zoo. He has also tinkered with the “Nightly” ‘closing, delivering in somber national moments something more reflective and nuanced than the typical anodyne sign off. One day before the 2020 presidential election, he told viewers, “democracy is messy, but we’ve got to let it work,” particularly for “our children, who you know are watching us.” During Holt’s tenure, “Nightly” also tried to focus on news in different parts of the country, including Florida and California, and not just on events in New York and Washington, D.C.
“Because of Lester’s steady and thoughtful leadership, ‘Nightly News’ has sustained its perch as a trusted and top news destination for millions of viewers across America. He has led the network during some of the country’s most fraught and challenging times in the past decade, most notably during the early days of the pandemic when Lester’s voice was a source of comfort each night for so many,” said Janelle Rodriguez, the NBC News executive vice president who oversees the evening newscast. “He’s taken viewers to the frontlines of every major story and sat down with world leaders, skillfully eliciting answers on consequential issues.”
NBC News did not comment on potential successors for Holt at “Nightly.” Hallie Jackson was recently made the anchor of the Sunday broadcast of program, and Tom Llamas, who came to NBC News from ABC News in 2021, has been seen as a candidate for the job.
Holt has been with NBCUniversal for a quarter century, joining MSNBC in 2000, then gaining roles as a substitute anchor for “NBC Nightly News” and a weekend anchor at “Today.” Before that, he spent nearly 20 year working for CBS-owned TV stations.
He will step away from “Nightly” as the overall evening-news format seems to be in flux. CBS News has retooled its long-running “CBS Evening News” so that it focuses less on the breaking news of the day. Meanwhile, ABC’s “World News Tonight,” which leads among the three main broadcast networks in winning overall audience, is tied closely to anchor David Muir.
“We’re lucky to have our jobs. I mean, it’s 30 minutes, 23 outside commercials is not a lot of time to try and curate all the complicated issues of the day in that period is a testament to the talented people we get to work with every day who can help us put this in a concise manner. Sometimes I think about our short attention spans these days, it’s like the evening news show were kind of ahead of their game. Now, 30 minutes is actually a pretty good time,” Holt told Variety in 2017. “Beyond that, we’re like, I’ve gotta move on.”