Versatile Lester Holt steps into prime time at NBC
Lester Holt, an NBC News correspondent, was in the midst of reporting about the Charlie Hebdo tragedy in Paris in January when his producers called him to return to the U.S. for his regular gig hosting NBC News shows on the upcoming weekend.
The 55-year-old newsman insisted on staying, wanting to anchor remotely and see the Hebdo story through the end of the initial phase, according to an NBC colleague who declined to speak publicly about an ongoing company issue. Holt stayed, filing dispatches and making live appearances on NBC and MSNBC.
A quick search through YouTube and NBC News sites will also render videos and gifs of Holt immersed in more feature-friendly pursuits — grooving to Taylor Swift on the set; donning an apron to help chefs on cooking segments; reciting the suggestive lyrics of Boys II Men as a joke. "When you speak the lyrics like a news anchor, it sounds weird and creepy," he said on a Tonight Show appearance last year.
"I'll make love to you. Like you want me to," he intoned in his deep baritone voice.
Smart money would bet that this lighter side of Holt will find fewer opportunities to shine in the next few months as he transitions from something of a do-it-all correspondent to network anchor assigned to a spot five nights a week. Holt was named by NBC News to replace Brian Williams as anchor of NBC Nightly News on an interim basis while Williams serves a six-month suspension without pay for embellishing a story about a reporting tour in Iraq in 2003.
Holt likely will be too busy for the late-night circuit. Then there's the fact that Williams got into trouble with an appearance on David Letterman and has been criticized for too much exposure on entertainment shows.
For now, Williams — who falsely stated that a helicopter he was on was hit by enemy fire and forced down — is scheduled to come back later this year and resume his place as the face of NBC News. His bosses insist that Williams is expected to return. But there's also an internal investigation about Williams' other statements in and out of NBC News.
"He deserves a second chance, and we are rooting for him," said Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.
Given the lingering investigation and the ascent of Holt, a longtime Williams backup, speculation about the long-term outcome of the network's chief anchor chair will likely not cease despite the hedged assurance from NBC execs. It's well underway. The names include the usual suspects — Holt, Anderson Cooper of CNN, Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer of NBC's Today show, even former Today mainstay Katie Couric, now with Yahoo.
Williams' "trustworthiness is going to be called into question for the rest of his career," says Chris Ariens, editor of TVNewser, a site that tracks TV news. "He has every intention of coming back. But it's all going to depend on this internal investigation."
Ratings could also play a role, says Mark Feldstein, a broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland at College Park. Holt maintained NBC News' lead for the early part of this week, while Williams was on a self-imposed suspension, and it's too early to estimate the long-term damage to Williams' drawing power. "If ratings do well under Lester Holt, he's a very viable candidate to replace (Williams) full time," Feldstein says.
Holt's ascendance was sudden, but it was a hardly a startling call. He anchors the Nightly News' weekend edition as well anchoring Dateline and co-anchoring Weekend Today.
Holt also subbed for Williams when he was recovering from knee surgery and sustained the network's lead over its competitors. That he's such a familiar face signifies an easier transition for staffers as well. Nightly News and the weekend edition share the same staff.
Holt, who got his broadcasting career start as a country music station disc jockey, worked at WBBM-TV in Chicago for 14 years prior to joining NBC. He is a huge music buff, occasionally playing the bass with bands.
Holt also worked as a reporter at WCBS-TV in New York in the early 1980s and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. His son, Stefan Holt, works as a reporter for an NBC-owned station in Chicago.
Holt is known for his versatility and zeal to jump on assignments, according to current and former colleagues. He earned the nickname "Iron Pants" when he was in the anchor chair non-stop at MSNBC during the Iraq War.
"He was someone who was well-liked," says Ariens, who previously worked as a producer at NBC News. "He's really good at what he does. And it bodes well for him that they didn't give it a second thought as to who's filling in."
Contributing: Emma Hinchliffe