Lester Holt News Reporter
Lester Holt News Reporter, who became the weekday anchor of NBC Nightly News in February 2015 following the demotion of Brian Williams, got his start at a California radio station. He later spent 19 years covering local news for CBS-owned and -operated stations.
He has co-anchored “Dateline NBC” and moderated presidential debates.
Reporting from the Frontlines-Lester Holt
In his more than 30-year career, Holt has reported on some of the world’s most serious issues and tragedies. Lester Holt began his broadcast journalism career at WBBM-TV in Chicago, anchoring the evening news and contributing to CBS News’ “48 Hours.” In 2000, he joined NBC News where he has served as co-anchor of “Weekend Today” and principal anchor of “Dateline NBC.” He has traveled abroad to report on the political and civil unrest during the 2011 Egyptian revolution and earthquake crisis in Haiti, the oil leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
He also served as the lead daytime anchor during NBC’s coverage of the 2000 presidential election recount and the run-up to the Iraq War. In addition to anchoring NBC’s primetime election coverage in 2016, Holt has moderated all of the network’s Democratic debates and was a key member of the team covering President Trump during the 2016 campaign, kicking off the cycle by moderating the first Democratic debate that made history as the most-watched Democratic debate ever.
Recently, he has shined a spotlight on the issue of criminal justice reform. He led a series across all NBC News platforms called “Justice for All,” which featured many exclusive interviews, including the first interview with rapper Meek Mill after his release from prison and the first televised town hall held at Sing Sing prison on mass incarceration.
Anchoring the Nightly News
Lester Holt News Reporter anchors NBC’s nightly newscast “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and also co-anchors “Dateline NBC.” He has been on the job since 2000. Before that, he worked at local CBS affiliates WCBS-TV in New York City and KCBS-TV (then KNXT) in Los Angeles.
In the past, he has reported on a wide range of stories, including ones focused on justice. For example, he interviewed rapper Meek Mill after his release from prison and covered wrongful convictions in the cases of Richard Rosario and Johnny Hincapie. He’s also anchored many high-profile interviews, including those of Cyntoia Brown-Long and Matthew Charles.
The broadcaster has traveled far and wide to cover breaking news stories. Lester Holt was in Manchester, England during the terrorist attacks in May of 2021; in Helsinki, Finland, for President Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin; and he was at the PyeongChang Olympic games in February of 2018.
When the time came for him to replace Brian Williams as anchor of the nightly news, Holt was ready to step up to the plate. He’s a proven journalist who’s been doing this for decades and has been recognized with numerous awards. He’s known for his dedication to his craft and has been called one of America’s most trusted journalists.
Co-Anchoring “Dateline NBC”
As a full-time anchor for the weekday edition of the NBC Nightly News and principal anchor for Dateline NBC, Lester Holt is the face of NBC’s flagship newscast. He has also co-anchored “Weekend TODAY” and MSNBC’s “Lester Holt Live.” He’s a familiar face around the world, having anchored from locations as diverse as Manchester and Brussels following terrorist attacks in Europe; Johannesburg for Nelson Mandela’s memorial service; and the streets of Cairo during the Arab Spring.
In February 2015, he became the interim anchor of the NBC Nightly News, replacing Brian Williams for six months. Lester Holt then became the permanent anchor of the show in June of that year.
Throughout his career, Holt has received numerous accolades, including multiple Emmy Awards and the Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism award. He’s been featured on TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list and The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100. He’s also portrayed a television news anchor on the series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Besides specializing in anchoring international events, Holt is also known for his ability to dig deep into major national stories. For example, Lester Holt led the network’s coverage of President Trump’s first trip to London and Helsinki in 2018. He was also on the ground in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics. During the coronavirus pandemic, Holt anchored a series of specials focused on the race for vaccines, interviewing executives from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna along the way.
Moderator of Presidential Debates
As moderator of the first presidential debate, Holt is on a tight rope. If Lester Holt lets the candidates prattle on about every talking point, he risks being perceived as soft. But if he interrupts too frequently to correct blatant lies or prevent the candidates from pivoting to overt promotion, he risks being accused of bias and unfairness.
Lester Holt has interviewed Clinton and Trump several times in recent months, so he brings healthy journalistic antagonism to the job. He pushed Clinton hard on the email issue, confronting her with the findings of FBI Director James Comey that she had been extremely careless in handling classified information. That made her squirm.
His experience reporting from poverty-stricken and war-torn regions abroad also will serve him well, given the issues likely to emerge in this election — such as income inequality; terrorism; immigration; trade; Trump’s apparent reversal on “birtherism”; abortion; gun control; student loans; military affairs; and health care. Then there are the personal stories that may erupt in this tense, highly charged race:
In a poll conducted by Ballotpedia after the October 26 debate, more than 160 Democratic and Republican strategists, pollsters, media consultants, activists, and allied interest group operatives surveyed whether they thought Holt did an evenhanded job as moderator. Most felt that he did, although some were concerned that he was more critical of Trump than he was of Clinton.
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