NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt is on his way back to New York from Paris after nearly a week of reporting on the attacks on that city. Before he departed Paris, Holt told TVNewser he asks himself one question when he weighs whether or not he should travel to the scene of a breaking news story: “Can I bring added value to the coverage by going?”
In the case of Paris, it was a “yes.”
TVNewser: You’ve covered other terror attacks, and their aftermath. What’s the sense you get from the people of France and their resolve to fight this?
Holt: Having covered the Charlie Hebdo attack 10 months ago, I can say this attack seem to cut more deeply. The randomness of the targets I think was most unsettling for many people, whereas the January attack — at least the first location, Charlie Hebdo — seemed more specifically targeted. I definitely see a greater feeling of vulnerability this time, especially following the discovery of another terror cell that was apparently set to strike.
TVNewser: Often, anchors will drop in to cities where big stories break, and 24 hours later they leave. But with this story there seems to be a new development each night. How long do you plan to stay in France?
Holt:I cut my teeth in this business covering breaking news and so I am usually the first to say “let’s go!” However since I took over Nightly News, I have to be more strategic and balance the needs of the broadcast by asking the question “can I bring added value to the coverage by going, such as landing an important interview or getting rare access?” Fortunately for the Paris coverage, I was able to answer “yes,” and have successfully landed both key interviews and access. At this writing, I am supposed to come home Friday, but I was also supposed to come home Tuesday and Wednesday. We are remaining flexible as the story develops.
TVNewser: You spoke with the captain of the French assault team, BRI, which took down the terrorists inside the Bataclan Theater. What type of picture of the massacre did he paint?
Holt: The Captain of the BRI teams, the equivalent of a SWAT team, painted a desperate situation. A theater filled with dead and wounded, and terrorists who refused to negotiate and who were at risk of killing even more people. When the team stormed the terrorists’ hiding place, they agreed if anyone went down, the others would keep pushing. In fact one officer was wounded and the team did that, and cornered the terrorists causing one to detonate his suicide vest. The other was fatally shot.
TVNewser: Is it common practice for the BRI members to cover their face and withhold their last names or was this a special situation because of concern for continued attacks?
Holt: The BRI conducts Commando-like functions but also conducts surveillance and so they prefer to protect their identities
TVNewser: You also spoke with BRI chief Christophe Molmy, who oversaw the raids on both Bataclan and Saint Denis, as well as the Charlie Hebdo attacks. What is the most fascinating thing you learned from speaking with him?
Holt: Chief Molmy runs the Paris BRI team, whereas it was a national or “red” team that led the raid outside of Paris in Saint-Denis. His guys did respond to support that operation but were not involved in the actual raid. He did raise an important point about how difficult it must have been for the families of these elite commando teams to have watched all this play out on TV, knowing their loved ones were engaged in these operations.
TVNewser: You and your team have brought Nightly News back to No. 1 in the evenings. How closely do you watch the ratings?
Holt: I measure our success each night based on how I feel at the end of the broadcast. Did we effectively deliver what we set out to do? I’m grateful for our audience and we work hard each night to earn their loyalty.