Lester Holt Stepping Down As ‘NBC Nightly News’ Anchor
Lester Holt said Monday that he is stepping down as anchor of NBC Nightly News. He’s been in the post for the past decade.
Holt, who also serves as managing editor of the broadcast, will continue in his role until early summer, and then will take a full-time role at the newsmagazine Dateline.
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No successor has been named.
“After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News,” Holt wrote in a memo to staffers. “It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do.”
Holt’s exit from Nightly News has long been rumored, but it comes amid tumult in the broadcast and cable news business, as linear television looks for ways to rein in costs.
There also has been a move away from star anchors. Holt’s counterpart at CBS, Norah O’Donnell, recently exited as anchor of CBS Evening News, with the broadcast getting a revamp to put an emphasis on stories from individual correspondents, along with John Dickerson and Maurice DiBois as dual anchors. Other high-profile personalities also have left, including Chuck Todd from NBC News, Chris Wallace from CNN and Hoda Kotb from Today.
Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News EVP Programming, wrote in a note to staffers, “Because of Lester’s steady and thoughtful leadership, Nightly News has sustained its perch as a trusted and top news destination for millions of viewers across America. He has led the network during some of the country’s most fraught and challenging times in the past decade, most notably during the early days of the pandemic when Lester’s voice was a source of comfort each night for so many. He’s taken viewers to the frontlines of every major story and sat down with world leaders, skillfully eliciting answers on consequential issues.”
“Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization,” she wrote.
She also wrote that Holt “will continue with NBC News for years to come,” as he devotes his energies to Dateline.
Holt became permanent anchor of Nightly News following the suspension of Brian Williams from the broadcast. Williams was in the midst of controversy over the embellishment of an account of his experiences reporting from Iraq.
ABC’s World News Tonight has topped the ratings in total viewers for the past eight seasons, with NBC Nightly News in second. The networks have seen audience erosion, but the nightly broadcasts still garner larger audiences than most cable news network shows.
Here is Holt’s note to staffers today:
Hello to all my Nightly News and Dateline colleagues. I want to share with you a big decision I have made about my future at NBC News. A future that I’m happy to say will keep me here for years to come and doing what I love.
After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News. It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do.
But before we play the walk off music, I have another announcement. I’m excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of Dateline NBC, but for the first time in a fulltime capacity whereby I will be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting Dateline hours on subjects I care deeply about. I am thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at Dateline as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places.
A smile comes to my face when I think that with Nightly News, and Dateline, I have now anchored two of the most successful and iconic television news programs in broadcast history. As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has. What an amazing ride.
All of you at Dateline and Nightly News are part of a formidable team, and in my opinion are the greatest group of journalists one could hope to work with. It is a true privilege.
Thank you in advance for your kindness and understanding during this transition.
I plan to continue anchoring Nightly through around the start of summer. As we get closer, I’ll of course firm up the date and keep all of you in the loop. In the meantime, to my Nightly friends, I look forward to sharing some banana pudding as is our send-off tradition!
With deep affection and admiration,
Lester
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