Lester Holt Anchors Final Nightly News: ‘I'll Miss Our Evenings Together'
'After 10 years, this is my last Nightly News broadcast,' Holt said. 'As anchor, it has been an honor to lead this program.'
Holt also thanked the extended Nightly News team, who joined him on-camera for his final moments as anchor. 'I'll miss our evenings together, and I'll miss the team that brings us all together,' he remarked.
Holt announced his departure in February, calling his time at the Nightly News 'the honor of a lifetime.' But he's staying in the NBC News family, moving over into a full-time role at Dateline NBC, where he's been a principal anchor since 2011.
He made his first public remarks about his post-Nightly News career during appearances at two awards ceremonies in April, the University of Kansas' William Allen White National Citation Award and Long Island University's George Polk Awards.
'What I know is that journalism is still a noble profession,' he remarked at the University of Kansas event. 'But one of tremendous responsibility. There is no room for arrogance if we are to succeed in our mission. There is however room for compassion.'
Holt echoed the tenor of those comments in his closing Nightly News remarks, saying: 'Around here, facts matter… journalism matters, and you matter.'
Tom Llamas will step into the Nightly News anchor's chair on June 2. In a sign of the times, Llamas will continue to host his streaming show, Top Story with Tom Llamas, in addition to his broadcast duties. Holt wished his successor well in his closing remarks, and a promo for the Llamas-anchored Nightly News ran during the newscast.
Prior to his farewell, Holt appeared on the Today show and spoke with co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin about his Nightly News tenure. 'The timing just seemed right,' he remarked. 'I never wanted to be one of those people that was totally associated with just one thing. I always think you have to have something else in your life.'
Speaking of his new Dateline role, Holt said that 'long-form [journalism] is something I really wanted to get my teeth into, it's a different set of news muscles.'
Holt's departure from the Nightly News leaves ABC News' World News Tonight anchor David Muir as the longest-tenured network evening news anchor. Norah O'Donnell left the CBS Evening News in January for a broader senior correspondent role at the embattled network.
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