Latest news with #WilliamAllenWhiteNationalCitationAward
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- 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.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lester Holt Makes 1st Public Remarks Since Announcing Departure From NBC Nightly News
Within the past week, Lester Holt delivered his first public remarks since announcing that he would be stepping down from the NBC Nightly News after a decade-long run. The outgoing anchor accepted the University of Kansas' William Allen White National Citation Award on Thursday and gave the keynote speech at the Long Island University's George Polk Awards on April 4. Both occasions saw Holt reflecting on his upcoming departure from behind the Nightly News desk, which is scheduled to take place at the beginning of the summer. He will transition to a full-time role on Dateline NBC, where he's been a principal anchor since 2011. 'I look forward to several more years as a working journalist,' Holt remarked while accepting the William Allen White honor. 'What I know is that journalism is still a noble profession,' he continued. '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.' In his April 4 address to the audience at the George Polk Awards, Holt praised the 'talented' Dateline team that includes new addition Blayne Alexander, as well as Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison, and Dennis Murphy. 'In a career spanning 45 years, I have answered the bell for the big story far more times than I will ever be able to count,' he said. 'I have traveled much of the country and much of the world. Interviewing people of great power as well as people who are powerless. The job has been an all-access pass like no other for which I am profoundly grateful.' Holt will be succeeded by Tom Llamas, who currently anchors Top Story on NBC News Now. In a sign of the times for the larger industry shift from linear to digital, Llamas will continue to host his streaming show in addition to his Nightly News duties. Holt addressed the future of journalism in his remarks at the University of Kansas, saying the profession was currently in a 'fight for its life.' 'A world without a healthy press is a world where the important questions are not asked or answered,' he noted. 'Where the powerful operate unchallenged.'
