Getty Gallery: 6/11
Lester Holt
Lester Holt is an anchor of NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC. He is among the journalists pushing the button to drop the ball in Times Square on New Year's Eve 2018.
Holt is one of American journalism's most recognizable faces and names. According to his NBC bio, "Lester Holt is an award-winning journalist and anchor of 'NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,' the network's flagship broadcast currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. Holt also leads NBC News’ special reports, breaking news and primetime political coverage."
Lester Holt Got His Start in Radio
According to Biography.com, Lester Holt "started out in radio as a teenager. He landed a job as a television reporter in New York City in 1981. In the mid-1980s, Holt began his nearly 14-year run on Chicago's WBBM as a reporter and news anchor. He joined NBC in 2000 as a reporter."
Once at NBC, Holt quickly ascended in the ranks. "Before long, he landed work on such shows as Today, MSNBC's Lester Holt Live and Dateline. He also began anchoring the NBC Nightly News on the weekends in 2007." His biggest achievement came in 2015, when he took Brian Williams' seat on the NBC Nightly News. That, says Biography.com, made him "the first African-American to be the lead anchor on a broadcast network's weekday nightly newscast."
His assignments for NBC have included the Olympics and foreign terrorist attacks. He was also a debate moderator during the 2016 presidential election. He is married with two sons.
In this photo, Lester Holt attends the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana.