Lester Holt is set to end his run as anchor of NBC Nightly News next week, passing the baton to Tom Llamas in the process.
It’s been a fantastic run for Holt, who has routinely been voted as the “Most Trusted News Anchor” in different polls.
As the NBC Nightly News anchor gets set to depart the role, I thought now would be as good a time as any to check in and see if Holt still has his fastball and is leaving the role on top.
I viewed Monday’s episode of the show, which featured several major news stories that broke either over the weekend or on Monday. The show began with a 90-second headline. If you read my review of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir — which routinely bests the NBC News program — I shared my disdain for the strategy. We live in an instantaneous world, and spending two minutes (of a 21-minute newscast adjusted for content) telling me what I’ll see in those 21 minutes is a waste of time.
And yet, I found the NBC Nightly News version to be a much better use of the time. It didn’t feel as much of a preview of what was to come during the broadcast as much as a “here’s what’s happening now.” It was a faster-paced rundown of the day’s headlines than an extended promotion.
The top story was former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. The top story was accompanied by moving camera shots of still images of Biden on a video wall in the studio.
It feels like a way to fancy up still images. Which is weird. You don’t have enough video of a former President to use in this situation? Maybe the idea that it was such a serious story called for a different approach, but sometimes the simplest approach is the best, in my view.
Furthermore, Lester Holt didn’t appear at the desk inside the studio until a live hit with Peter Alexander roughly five minutes into the show. That feels backwards to me. It would seem like the logical step would be to begin the show with Holt at the desk, and then move him around the studio as the newscast advances. Again, just a personal preference.
After the hit with Alexander, the broadcast welcomed Dr. Lee Richstone, the Chairman of Urology at Northwell Health Lenox Hill, to share details about the prostate cancer diagnosis.
This, in my opinion, is where Holt has always, and continues, to shine. In less than one minute, Holt set Richstone up to share important information about prostate cancer and what the prognosis would be for someone like the former President.
The two times Holt spoke were insanely efficient. He asked:
- “Do most cancers of the prostate begin with symptoms?”
- “In this case, the former President, apparently, had some symptoms and there were some questions about when that began. What is the typical length of period into the disease that you find out you have it?”
Interview questions don’t generally get more succinct than that. Those are two great contextualising questions that advance the story. That’s a job well done.
However, the production didn’t really do Holt many favors after that brief interview. As he was sitting down with Dr. Richstone, a quick transition showed him back standing in front of the desk — where he was just sitting — with no chairs visible, showing that the interview was obviously pre-recorded.
The nightly newscast continued its first segment with coverage of the severe weather wreaking havoc on midwest cities like St. Louis, the call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin aiming to put an end to the war in Ukraine, a bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, as well as the deadly boat crash that struck the Brookly Bridge over the weekend.
Later in the show, Holt welcomed Kate Snow to talk about a new law centered on stopping sexual content created by artificial intelligence signed into law. In the third segment, the show hit quick stories about radio outages at the Newark airport, Subaru raising the prices of its vehicles, and Sesame Street moving to Netflix.
Finally, the show ended with its good news segment, focusing on efforts to restore coral reefs in American-controlled ocean waters.
I had never thought of this until it was pointed out by my colleague Jim Avila. He shared his belief that ABC News anchor David Muir is the smoothest prompter reader in nightly news. And he’s right. Holt isn’t the top dog in that aspect. But he is the best at allowing his personality to shine through, joking about having to follow a soundbite of Cookie Monster while reading the Sesame Street to Netflix story.
That, in my opinion, is why Lester Holt is the most trusted news anchor in the country. Serious when needed, but also able to let his personality show at the right moments, too. That comes with experience but also with building credibility with your audience, which isn’t always easy to do.
After having now watched all three major nightly newscasts for this series, I’d say I’d put NBC Nightly News squarely in the middle. I liked the news magazine style of CBS Evening News better — which they’ve since altered, much to my chagrin — but thought NBC’s newscast was better than the version of ABC World News Tonight that I reviewed.
It feels as if NBC News knows what it has in Lester Holt. If you’re tuning into the network as your news destination, it’s likely because of him, not in spite of him. They allowed Holt to be the star of the show, and didn’t over-rely on other correspondents or analysts, which feels like a smart strategy.
To me, it is clear that Lester Holt is still at the top of his game. But if he’d rather spend his time focusing on Dateline NBC rather than the nightly newscast, who can fault him? It’s a position he’s held for just under a decade, hosting the weekend version of the program before that. Holt has earned the right to decide what his duties look like at this stage of his career. I’ll be sad to see him go, and even more interested to see how the show evolves when Tom Llamas takes over the seat next month.
Here’s a tip of the cap to Lester Holt. The most trusted news anchor in America. It’s clear it’s a well-deserved honor.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
Lester, you’re amazing. I’ll miss you terribly. I think Tom is great but I’ll miss your professional approach and your sensitively when it’s the good news segment.
I don’t like much but u are good. My wife and I watch you unless Little House on the Prairie is on.