Tom Llamas to Succeed Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News
NBC News announced on Thursday that Tom Llamas will succeed Lester Holt as NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor, beginning this summer.
Llamas will continue to anchor his weeknight NBC News Now program Top Story with Tom Llamas.
'Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility. I look forward to working with the world-class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night,' Llamas said in a statement.
Holt broke the news in late February that he will be stepping down from the anchor's chair at the beginning of the summer. He remains with NBC News, and will take on a full-time role Dateline NBC, where he has been a principal anchor since 2011.
'Lester Holt is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time. Just like Lester, I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth,' said Llamas.
NBC News wasted no time unveiling succession plans for its flagship evening newscast. Regular Nightly News viewers are already familiar with Llamas as the regular fill-in anchor for Holt. He has also has also filed reports for Today.
'Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity-all characteristics that have long been trademarks of NBC Nightly News," observed Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News' executive vice president of programming. 'Additionally, he's been instrumental in growing NBC News NOW into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.'
Llamas first joined the NBC News in 2000 as an MSNBC producer. He later served as an embed for the 2004 presidential campaign before reporting and anchoring for the NBC stations WTVJ and WNBC.
He then moved to ABC News in 2014, and spent nearly seven years at the network as the anchor of ABC World News Tonight's weekend editions. He also anchored ABC News Live programming, and was ABC News' chief national affairs correspondent.
Llamas rejoined NBC News in April 2021, as a senior national correspondent and the face of NBC News Now.
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