Surprise: Lester Holt Steps Down From NBC
NBC Nightly News anchor of a decade, Lester Holt, will step away from the desk in a move that has shocked and saddened fans. His departure from the series joins a growing list of notable shakeups in broadcast media after Joy Reid and Norah O’Donnell both announced their departures from the network.
With a career in journalism spanning over five decades, Lester Holt’s departure was announced in an email to staff of both Nightly News and Dateline, in which he thanked them for their hard work and dedication. “As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has. What an amazing ride.”
He wrote, “After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News.”
He joined the Nightly News in June 2015. He was named anchor after former host Brian Williams departed from the network amid accusations of fabricating events while reporting in Iraq. Since holding the position, he’s been named the “most-trusted television news personality in America” twice in a row, according to polls from The Hollywood Reporter and Morning Consult.
In the ten years since hosting the show, the reporter has covered the COVID pandemic, the past three presidential elections, and the war in Gaza, among many other news stories.
“He has led the network during some of the country’s most fraught and challenging times in the past decade,” In a message to staff, Janelle Rodriguez, executive vice president of programming, at NBC praised Holt for his career at the Nightly News.
She continued, “Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization.”
NBC has not announced a replacement host for the show. However, he is not retiring, despite some speculating otherwise. The Emmy Award-nominated anchor will focus all of his time on NBC’s crime broadcast, Dateline.
Lester Holt’s email to staff this morning announcing his decision to leave nightly news https://t.co/iFscn4O7rT pic.twitter.com/NCoqJKgdKf
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 24, 2025
His departure is just one of the recent shakeups occurring in broadcast television. On Tuesday, Joy Reid of MSNBC’s The Reid Out broadcast her final show after its cancellation was announced for February 23. Earlier this month, Andrea Mitchell of Andrea Mitchell Reports announced she’d be stepping down.
Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, also broadcast by NBC, exited the network earlier this month, along with CNN’s Jim Acosta. In addition, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell stepped away from the Evening News anchor desk to “take on a new position at the network,” as per a statement.
The exact date of his last broadcast is currently unknown. While NBC has not announced a replacement, Holt will stay on the Nightly News until sometime in the summer.
