To mark the 15th anniversary of TVNewser this month, Adweek honored the 30 Most Impactful TV Newsers of the Past 15 Years, spotlighting the personalities and execs who were instrumental in the industry’s incredible decade-and-a-half evolution. TVNewser will be presenting expanded versions of each honoree’s interview.
Lester Holt:
- Job now: Anchor, NBC Nightly News; anchor, Dateline NBC
- Job 15 years ago: Anchor, Weekend Today, NBC; anchor, MSNBC
Adweek: What were you doing 15 years ago (in January 2004)?
Holt: 15 years ago, I was splitting my week between anchoring the weekend edition of Today and anchoring an afternoon newscast on MSNBC.
What’s your favorite professional moment of the past 15 years?
My favorite professional moment of the last 15 years was moderating the first 2016 presidential debate. There was no template for the kind of election we witnessed in 2016, and certainly no template for these particular debates. For me it was enormously challenging, with a number of potential pitfalls to navigate. At the same time it was an incredible honor to have been selected for the role, and a moment I’m not sure will be matched.
What is the biggest way that TV news has changed over the past 15 years?
I think the biggest change in TV news over the last 15 years is the growing reliance on outside video sources, from cell phone surveillance video, to police body and dash cams. The ubiquity of video sources has impacted what we cover and how we cover it. It also underscores the importance of applying our journalistic due diligence and framing sometimes incomplete snippets of video in their proper context.
Who have you learned the most from in your career? What did they teach you?
I have been blessed by an abundance of mentors and influences in my career and it’s hard to say who has taught me more. That said, it was Johnathan Rodgers (currently CEO of TV One) who hired me for my first full time anchor job in Chicago. He taught me that to be a successful anchor, you have to be a successful reporter and he made sure I was wearing both hats. I was anchoring and filing stories from the field every day. It’s why to this day I strive to get out from behind the anchor desk and take Nightly News on the road for major stories as often as we can. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is the value of mentorship. The future of journalism is in our hands and it’s critical that we support our younger colleagues by lending our guidance, experiences and a listening ear.
What has been your toughest professional challenge during the past 15 years?
My biggest challenge, besides moderating the 2016 debate, was being named interim anchor of NBC Nightly News. Anyone who has been an interim anything can appreciate the conundrum: am I the caretaker, or do I fully assume the role in the time given? In the end I followed the advice of a senior executive who said “act like you own it.” That’s what I tried to do, while not concerning myself with where it would or wouldn’t lead.