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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Llamas Marks the Start of a 'New Adventure' as He Anchors First 'NBC Nightly News' After Lester Holt's Exit
Tom Llamas celebrated his debut as the new anchor of NBC Nightly News on the June 2 episode, calling it the start of a "new adventure" Llamas, who is also host of Top Story with Tom Llamas, succeeds Lester Holt in the role The journalist spoke to Today ahead of his first episode behind the Nightly News desk, revealing how he feels as the first Latino weekday evening news anchorTom Llamas is signing on. Llamas made his debut as the new anchor of NBC Nightly News on the June 2 episode, taking over the reins from Lester Holt. "That's Nightly News for tonight, my first as the anchor of this great broadcast," Llamas said at the end of the episode. "My thanks to all of you as we start this new adventure together. Tonight, and always, we're here for you." Llamas also introduced a new series during his debut episode called "The Cost of Denial," which he explained is "a spotlight on the issues millions of American face across healthcare and homeownership when it comes to insurance coverage." Ahead of his first episode anchoring Nightly News, Llamas sat down with Savannah Guthrie on Today to discuss his new role. "I feel excited. I'm so looking forward to this. I can't wait," he said, adding that he "never in my wildest dreams" thought he could get to this point in his career. "I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I think it's good to be a little nervous." With his new gig, Llamas is the first Latino weekday evening news anchor — something he called both a privilege and an honor. "I thank all the Hispanic journalists that came before me because when I was watching news and growing up, we'd watch news in English and Spanish, I saw people like José Díaz-Balart, people that I could look up to. And I saw, well, if they can do it, I could do it," said Llamas, who is Cuban-American. "I think even bigger than that, my parents came here as immigrants. They came here with nothing. Their son is now going to be the anchor of Nightly News, one of the biggest and most important newscasts in our country," he continued. "What it tells me is that the American dream is still alive. I know that because I'm living it." Llamas also called his wife, Jennifer, and their three children "my biggest cheerleaders." Holt signed off as Nightly News anchor on the May 30 episode after more than a decade in the role, calling his stint on the evening news show "the honor of a lifetime." "Around here, facts matter, words matter, journalism matters and you matter," Holt said in his farewell. "Over the last decade, we have shared some dark and harrowing days and nights from our country — the pandemic, mass shootings, natural disasters — each testing our resilience and our compassion. That's why I often like to leave you with something to smile about, moments that reassure and connect us." "Please continue to take care of yourself and each other, and I'll do the same," he added, also wishing Llamas "great success." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Llamas 'excited' and ready to put his stamp on 'Nightly News' as he takes over
Tom Llamas said he's "excited" to take the helm of "Nightly News" and will live by his tenets of being "tough but fair" while reporting "without fear or favor." Llamas succeeds Lester Holt as anchor and managing editor of 'Nightly News' in a historic move making him the first weekday Latino evening news anchor of an English-language show. "I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to the challenge," Llamas told "TODAY" anchor Savannah Guthrie in a sit-down interview. His new role is the peak of his decadeslong career in journalism, that started when he was just 15. "Never, ever in my wildest dreams, did I think I could get to that point ... You get a new opportunity, a new challenge, and you get to a point where you think, 'Wow, maybe that could be me,'' Llamas reflected. "You just kind of keep running your race, and that's what I've been doing. It's like everybody dreams of this happening to them." He said he'll come into work with the same fire and fuel he had when he was younger working overnights in the industry "because I know this is a calling." Llamas said that little by little, "I do want to put my stamp" on "Nightly News." "I'd like to launch an investigative series into the insurance industry. I think people are having a tough time getting house insurance, getting medical insurance, trying to find a doctor, trying to get their kids covered. So I think we should take a look at that a little closer," he explained. Holt announced in February that he planned to step down over the summer. He will remain a fixture at NBC with a full-time role at 'Dateline,' where he has been the principal anchor for nearly 15 years. In addition to his duties at 'Nightly News,' Llamas will continue to anchor 'Top Story,' a daily evening newscast that streams on NBC News NOW. Llamas started out as an intern at a local Telemundo station before kick-starting his professional journalism career at NBC News, working as an overnight production assistant and then a political campaign embed. He rose through the news business as a local journalist at WTVJ in Miami and WNBC in New York. He later moved to ABC, serving as the network's chief national affairs correspondent and anchoring weekend editions of 'World News Tonight.' Llamas returned to NBC News in 2021 as a senior national correspondent and then took the helm at 'Top Story.' He was a regular fill-in anchor on 'Nightly News.' In recent years, Llamas has led coverage of major breaking news and political events for NBC News Now, reporting on pivotal storylines such as the Israel-Hamas war; Russia's invasion of Ukraine; the July 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump; and the Tokyo and the Paris Olympics. He has interviewed key world leaders, including Trump during the 2016 presidential contest, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Llamas, who grew up in Miami in a Cuban American family, credited his parents with inspiring his journey. "My parents came here as immigrants. They came here with nothing. Their son is now going to be the anchor of 'Nightly News,' one of the biggest and most important newscasts in our country. What it tells me is that the American dream is still alive. I know that because I'm living it," he said. He also praised his three children, calling them "my biggest cheerleaders," and his wife, a television producer and "his best editor," with helping him soar in his career. This article was originally published on
NBC News
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Tom Llamas 'excited' and ready to put his stamp on 'Nightly News' as he takes over
Tom Llamas said he's "excited" to take the helm of Nightly News and will live by his tenants of being "tough but fair" while reporting "without fear or favor." Llamas succeeds Lester Holt as anchor and managing editor of 'Nightly News' in a historic move making him the first weekday Latino evening news anchor of an English-language show. "I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to the challenge," Llamas told "TODAY" anchor Savannah Guthrie in a sit-down interview. His new role is the peak of his decades-long career in journalism, that started when he was just 15. "Never, ever in my wildest dreams, did I think I could get to that point ... You get a new opportunity, a new challenge, and you get to a point where you think, 'Wow, maybe that could be me,'' Llamas reflected. "You just kind of keep running your race, and that's what I've been doing. It's like everybody dreams of this happening to them." He said he'll come into work with the same fire and fuel he had when he was younger working overnights in the industry "because I know this is a calling." Llamas said little by little, "I do want to put my stamp" on "Nightly News." "I'd like to launch an investigative series into the insurance industry. I think people are having a tough time getting house insurance, getting medical insurance, trying to find a doctor, trying to get their kids covered. So I think we should take a look at that a little closer," he explained. Holt, who held those roles for a decade, announced in February that he planned to step down over the summer. He will remain a fixture at NBC with a full-time role at 'Dateline,' where he has been the principal anchor for nearly 15 years. In addition to his duties at 'Nightly News,' Llamas will continue to anchor 'Top Story,' a daily evening newscast that streams on NBC News NOW. Llamas started out as an intern at a local Telemundo station before kickstarting his professional journalism career at NBC News, working as an overnight production assistant and then a political campaign embed. He rose through the news business as a local journalist at WTVJ in Miami and WNBC in New York. He later moved to ABC, serving as the network's chief national affairs correspondent and anchoring weekend editions of 'World News Tonight.' Llamas returned to NBC News in 2021 as a senior national correspondent and then took the helm at 'Top Story.' He was a regular fill-in anchor on 'Nightly News.' In recent years, Llamas has led coverage of major breaking news and political events for NBC News Now, reporting on pivotal storylines such as the Israel-Hamas war; Russia's invasion of Ukraine; the July 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump; and the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. He has interviewed key world leaders, including Trump during the 2016 presidential contest as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Llamas, who grew up in Miami in a Cuban-American family, credited his parents with inspiring his journey. "My parents came here as immigrants. They came here with nothing. Their son is now going to be the anchor of Nightly News, one of the biggest and most important newscasts in our country. What it tells me is that the American Dream is still alive. I know that because I'm living it," he said. He also praised his three children, calling them "my biggest cheerleaders," and his wife, a television producer and "his best editor" with helping him soar in his career.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Tom Llamas on taking over 'NBC Nightly News' from 'Iron Pants' Lester Holt
Tom Llamas on taking over 'NBC Nightly News' from 'Iron Pants' Lester Holt Show Caption Hide Caption 'NBC Nightly News' anchor Tom Llamas explains why he left ABC News Tom Llamas, the new anchor of "NBC Nightly News," explains to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa how he became interested in the news. NEW YORK - Tom Llamas, the veteran journalist who takes the helm of NBC Nightly News from Lester Holt on June 2, is breaking down a typical weekday and how it'll change with his new gig. Llamas lives just north of Manhattan in Westchester County, New York, with his wife Jennifer and their three children, ages 12, 9 and 7. "I get up at 6:30 in the morning because I want to be there for breakfast (with my kids)," Llamas, 45, tells USA TODAY. "But I've got to have my energy levels peaking at 6:30 (p.m.) now. I'm going to figure it out; a lot of Cuban coffee." Llamas admits that he already drank a lot of coffee with his previous schedule, which includes traveling the globe to cover breaking news for NBC in addition to anchoring "Top Story with Tom Llamas," an evening news program that streams on NBC News Now. (The show recently earned an Emmy nomination.) Llamas also served as the main substitute anchor for Holt on "Nightly News." In addition to his new duties as the anchor and managing editor of "Nightly News," Llamas will continue to host "Top Story." "People are working feverishly at 30 Rock because the moment 'Nightly News' ends in the same studio, they're going to hit a button and the entire studio's going to change," Llamas reveals, as Studio 1A will transform from the "Nightly News" set to "Top Story." In all, he'll be anchoring 90 minutes of live television, five nights a week. "The graphics are all going to change, and 'Top Story's' going to start within seconds." Who is new 'NBC Nightly News' anchor Tom Llamas? Llamas was born in Miami to Cuban refugee parents and traces his interest in news to his childhood. "At the dinner table, we were always talking politics, international affairs, even when we were little," he recalls. "Our parents wanted us to understand what had happened in Cuba, so I was always interested in current events." His career started at 15 when he landed an internship with Telemundo, now owned by NBCUniversal. Llamas graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and later completed a program at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies. Since 2000, he has spent the majority of his time with NBC News and its local affiliates, save for a seven-year stretch from 2014 to 2021 at ABC News. During Llamas' time at ABC, he worked as chief national affairs correspondent and as the weekend anchor on "World News Tonight," while also handling substitute anchor duties for David Muir on weekdays. When the world shut down following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Llamas' priorities shifted; he was looking to travel less. A homecoming to NBC News was "always in the back of my mind," he says. NBC News hired him as a senior national correspondent and the "Top Story" anchor. "The team welcomed me with open arms," he says. "People like Savannah (Guthrie) and Hoda (Kotb) were the first people I told and they were so nice. And I've known Lester since I was 21." Holt, 66, has anchored "Nightly News" since 2015, when he replaced Brian Williams, who was suspended for falsely claiming that he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War. A subsequent investigation found that he had made other inaccurate statements about his experiences covering events, and he lost the job. Llamas is the fourth person in the last 40 years to anchor "Nightly News," joining Holt, Williams and Tom Brokaw, who anchored from 1983 to 2004. Both Llamas and his wife worked for Holt as production assistants straight out of college. Tom Llamas continues a trend in changing faces at NBC, network news Holt will stay with NBC as anchor of "Dateline" newsmagazine. But his departure from the anchor chair at "Nightly News" marks the second major change to NBC News' talent lineup this year. Kotb left her post as co-anchor of "Today" in January. All of this comes as Comcast, NBCUniversal's parent company, prepares to spin off MSNBC, CNBC, E! and Syfy into a new company called Versant. Meanwhile, Norah O'Donnell departed the "CBS Evening News" in January, and was unsuccessfully replaced by co-anchors Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson. Muir, who took over "World News Tonight" in 2014, is the longest tenured of the network evening news anchors. "There's still close to 20 million Americans that watch the evening news every single night," Llamas remarks of the current landscape. "It's a lot more competitive than people know. We compete for everything in network news, like whether it be bookings on guests, on politicians, live-shot locations, who has the best story, who has the most compelling elements, the video. All of our journalists, besides getting the story right, they're also making sure that they've beaten the competition." Llamas' goal with "Nightly News" is to "modernize the storytelling little by little," employing more user-generated content. He'll judge the program's success on gaining viewers' trust, although he wants "Nightly News" to be No. 1 in the ratings; ABC has led for nearly a decade, with CBS a distant third. However, his conversations with Holt on the anchor role have focused less on ratings and more on their personal lives. "(Holt) did this job while being a father and a husband," Llamas says. "He had two sons and he came up in local news, cable and the network. He was always a hard worker. I mean, his nickname is 'Iron Pants.' So I've asked him about that and the tough calls he had to make." The work-life balance, while now on a more national level, isn't new to Llamas or his family. He says his kids are excited for him and he credits his wife with being the "rock" of their family. How will Tom Llamas cover the Trump administration? Llamas is aware that President Trump is a news consumer. And while the current president has probably seen some of Llamas' work on NBC, the anchor is also aware of his new platform. "You've got to be tough but fair," Llamas says. "If you're tough on the Republicans, you've got to be tough on the Democrats, and you've got to be fair about it. I think NBC has always done that. And then you've got to report the news without fear or favor. "I work for NBC News, but I really work for the viewers. And so when I do have the opportunity to interview the president" – he has not thus far – "I know I'm not asking questions for me or for NBC, I'm asking questions for the people at home. (The challenge) comes with the territory. I've had conversations with Lester about this as well. But I know what I've signed up for, and I'm looking forward to it."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lester Holt Anchors Final Nightly News: ‘I'll Miss Our Evenings Together'
Lester Holt signed off from the NBC Nightly News on Friday. The NBC News veteran took a moment at the end of the newscast to reflect on his decade in the anchor's chair. '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.
