Lester Holt was out of the country last week when he was named anchor of the “NBC Nightly News.”
“I think it’s safe to say I knew a few days before the announcement,” says Holt who, Monday night, anchored his first “Nightly News” broadcast as its permanent anchor. “I knew it was coming down. But, frankly, I wasn’t sure of the timing.”
Holt, 56, had subbed on the “Nightly News” since mid-February, when NBC suspended Brian Williams for six months for lying about being on a helicopter in Iraq hit by enemy fire.
“It’s been somewhat amusing that I’ve been anchoring the ‘Nightly News’ weekend edition since 2007 then suddenly I’m thrust into the [weeknight] seat … and read all these stories that I came out of nowhere,” he says. “I’m the same guy … but I’m not a guy who likes to read about himself in the newspapers.”
Asked if he would have been disappointed if NBC brought Williams back to “Nightly” — instead of busting him down to cable’s MSNBC, Holt demurred.
“It was never my job, and I recognized that from the beginning,” says Holt. “This was not easy — they asked me [to fill in for Williams] with very little notice for the next six months and I took the attitude that right up until I got the news [about NBC’s decision] that it wasn’t my job to fight for.
“I had a great little role carved out for myself [including ‘Dateline’ and ‘Weekend Today’] and I wasn’t looking for anything,” Holt says. “It was never anything I fought for.”
And he admits he will be paying attention to his 6:30 p.m. competitors (David Muir and Scott Pelley).
“I know the popular answer is to say that I don’t pay attention to ratings, but this anchor does. It’s the only playing field we have. It’s the reality of what we do,” he says.
“Our broadcast is operating from a position of strength. It’s going to be a fight every night.
“Am I competitive? You bet.”