NBC's Holt plans more on-site reporting
Like most broadcasters, Lester Holt is pretty sure he uttered the profession's familiar refrain at some early point in his career.
"When I was younger, I'm sure I said I want to be Walter Cronkite or (former NBC anchor) John Chancellor," says the 56-year-old newsman, suddenly thrust into the spotlight as the chief anchor of NBC Nightly News after his predecessor Brian Williams was demoted last week for fibbing about his work. "But in more recent years, it's not something I've really aspired to. Frankly, there were only three of those jobs."
Holt was content to ride out his career as a utility player for the network, lending his gravelly voice and breezy style to assignments that attest to his versatility — weekend anchor, breaking news reporter, morning show host.
That all changed after a simple but defiant Facebook message from a network viewer. In February, Williams said on air that the helicopter he was on while covering the war in Iraq in 2003 had been hit by enemy fire and forced down. A veteran from the convoy challenged Williams' account on Facebook, forcing the anchorman to recant the story on air. Williams was suspended for six months while NBC investigated his other public statements. Last week, NBC said Williams will be assigned to MSNBC as a breaking news anchor and elevated Holt to succeed him in the anchor chair.
In a phone interview with USA TODAY, Holt predicted the news program likely won't change much. Despite the decline of the evening network news, it still draws about 8 million viewers a night and is locked in a dogfight with ABC's World News Tonight for the top spot.
"I'm keenly aware that we have a loyal audience for nightly news. I'm inheriting a successful broadcast," he said. "I wouldn't look to tune in for a major overhaul."
But as he had shown while subbing for Williams in the last four months, he hoped to continue his penchant for traveling to news spots for live reporting. "Much of my career has been built from" breaking news, he said. "I don't see myself tied to the anchor desk."
His media interviews Monday were something of a victory lap; Holt's ascension is as dramatic as it is awkward. Since Williams' fate at NBC was announced Thursday, the deposed anchor has come back to the offices at 30 Rock in New York. But Holt has yet to speak to the man he's replacing in person. They did chat over the phone, he said.
"I can tell you that it was a conversation we both have been craving, recognizing what an awkward situation this was," Holt said. "We're friends. Nothing that transpired gets between that. And I thanked him for the supportive words he said in public."
On Sunday, Holt tweeted some photos from the set of the Today show, as colleagues toasted him on his departure. Holt thinks Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News, may have been referring to Holt's penchant for social media and adaptability with digital storytelling tools when Lack called him "the perfect person to meet the moment" as TV news stands at crossroads. Lack "sees me as a person who can embrace all the things and tools at our disposal," Holt said.
But Holt's elevation has a deeper significance, too, as he becomes the first African-American solo anchor for an evening network news show. The "solo" qualifier is needed because the late Max Robinson was part of an anchor troika at ABC News – with Peter Jennings and Frank Reynolds – in the 1980s.
"I recognize having a place in history is a nice bonus to this role," Holt said. "I've never defined my career by race. People should be able to turn on TV and see people who look like themselves. Maybe some people will be inspired. But I don't wear race on my sleeve."