Lester Holt anchored his final “NBC Nightly News” broadcast on May 30 as he shifts his full focus to NBC’s “Dateline.”
Holt, who has anchored “NBC Nightly News” since 2015 while also hosting “Dateline,” is now stepping away from the nightly broadcast to focus solely on long-form journalism, a move he says allows him to dive deeper into storytelling. He made a May 30 appearance on Today for a segment that honored his time hosting the nightly news show.
“I’ve been hosting ‘Dateline’ for many years,” Holt told Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, “but long form is something I really wanted to get my teeth into.”
“It’s a different set of news muscles,” he continued. “The time just seemed to be right. You know, you hit a certain age, you start thinking, ‘What’s the back part of my career going to look like?’”
NBC national correspondent Tom Llamas will take over as anchor of “NBC Nightly News” following Holt’s departure. Llamas will continue anchoring his primetime streaming show “Top Story” with Tom Llamas on “NBC News NOW” as he takes on his new role at NBC Nightly News.
Holt, who announced his exit in February, has been a steady presence in American journalism, guiding viewers through major events like the rise of Donald Trump, the COVID-19 pandemic, and conflicts in the Middle East. Since announcing his departure, Holt has shared his passion for covering news stories with depth and accuracy.
“The big buy-in was to be able to do more of the hours,” Holt told Variety earlier this month. “I once spent two nights in prison for a ‘Dateline,’ and I’ve done heartbreaking stories on the asthma crisis and the economy… but I want to do more of those.”
“I want to be able to tell a producer, ‘Yes, I’ll be there for that interview next week,’ because I won’t be jumping after whatever is happening for Nightly.”
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