Lester Holt
Lester Holt
Lester Don Holt, Jr., is an American journalist. He anchors the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News. He is also the anchor for Dateline NBC. On February 9, 2015, he became the interim weeknight NBC Nightly News anchor, filling in for suspended anchor and managing editor Brian Williams. On June 18, 2015, he was made the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News after NBC decided to keep Brian Williams as MSNBC breaking news anchor and reporter and fill-in NBC News...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNews Anchor
Date of Birth8 March 1959
CityMarion County, CA
CountryUnited States of America
independent thinking circles
As Americans, we rightfully place tremendous value on having a free and independent press. Our role as journalists is to give voice to the voiceless, and hold our leaders and institutions accountable. But the circle is only completed when that information is consumed by a free-thinking and engaged audience.
jobs reading responsibility
At the end of the day, I'm reading the news. I'm not digging ditches. I'm not fighting fires. It's a long day, and it's a lot of responsibility, and it can be a little bewildering sometimes with the schedule. But, you know, it's a job, and they pay me well to do a job.
skills people important
One of the most important skills at [reporting] is not so much what comes out of your mouth but what you hear. To listen. When you interview people, it's very important to understand the nuances of what they're saying and to understand when they have actually made news-when they've told you something that they haven't told anybody else.
morning independent break-through
I'll co-host 'TODAY' from Los Angeles Saturday morning and then make my way up to Merced for that evening's graduation ceremony. I'm still touching up my remarks, but my challenge to the Class of 2010 will be to break through the deafening and too often negative echo chamber of the digital era and become critical and independent thinkers.
worry people stories
The biggest thing I worry about is the unsubstantiated story. You have to tell the people what you know -- and acknowledge what you don't know.
jobs military thinking
Anybody who was in the military or a military family has a certain sensitivity to the separation. Everyone knows military wives have the hardest jobs. I was born into one. When I think back to those days, I didn't appreciate it then.
cutting oatmeal guy
On more than one occasion, the camera has cut to me after a break as I'm still trying to swallow the last bite of cookie. Those of you who have thought to yourselves, 'That guy talks like he has marbles in his mouth,' should know that they are not marbles, but oatmeal cookies.
mustache shaving chance
Not to get too deep on shaving my mustache, but it was kind of symbolic of, 'This is a moment of liberation, a chance to reinvent yourself.' That's kind of what I did.
mustache want firsts
I remember when I interviewed at MSNBC, one of the first things they said to me was, 'In your tapes, you had a mustache, right?' I said, 'Yeah, I recently took it off.' I said, 'If you hire me, you get to decide if you want it or not.' They said, 'No, no, we're fine with it now.'
among campus deeply east farm fields francisco high home hours lies newest recession san spent suffered university
UC Merced is the University of California's newest campus and lies among farm fields in the San Joaquin Valley, 2 1/2 hours east of San Francisco and not far from where I spent most of my childhood. It's a part of California that has suffered deeply from the recession with high unemployment and a skyrocketing home foreclosure rate.
afternoon consume double helps love people reserve settling surprises wake water weekend
The one thing I don't consume during 'Today' - which surprises many people - is coffee. I find that a lot of water helps wake me up, without the buzz. I love coffee, but usually reserve a double espresso as an afternoon pick-me-up before settling in to do the weekend 'Nightly News.'
ability answers enriches hear learning life questions rather stop truly
What I've come to know is that in life, it's not always the questions we ask, but rather our ability to hear the answers that truly enriches our understanding. Never, never stop learning.
both card june knows pull race time
Everyone knows I'm black. I am who I am. This is the person that Lester Sr. and June Holt raised, and I make no apology for it. At the same time, I'm never going to pull a race card to get what I want. You can't have it both ways.
good image quite stuck tasted
I reluctantly soldiered on to the raccoon. It actually would have tasted quite good had I not had the image of a raccoon rummaging through the garbage stuck in my head.