Lester Holt is an award-winning journalist at NBC News and anchor of “Dateline.” Previously, he was the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for a decade, leading NBC News’ coverage of major breaking news and political events, including presidential elections and debates. Holt has served as principal anchor of “Dateline” since September 2011 and joined NBC News in 2000.
One of Holt’s trademarks is his on-the-ground reporting, part of his deep commitment to providing viewers with first-person accounts when disaster and tragedy strikes. He has reported from around the world, including from Israel following the Oct. 7 attack as the only broadcast news anchor on the ground during the first two full weeks of the war; from Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022; from Tehran, Iran, in 2019, where he received rare access and interviewed top diplomats and the Iranian foreign minister; from Manchester, Brussels and Paris following the 2017 terrorist attacks that took place across Europe; and from Hungary during the 2015 migrant crisis in Europe.
Throughout his tenure as anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” Holt conducted numerous exclusive headline-making interviews with world leaders, U.S. presidents, CEOs, politicians, notable public figures and more. Holt’s exclusive with President Donald Trump in May 2017 stands as one of the most consequential interviews of his first term, after Trump told Holt the firing of former FBI chief James Comey was tied to the Russia investigation. Holt also exclusively interviewed the U.S. Capitol Police officer responsible for shooting and killing a protester while defending the U.S. House chamber during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Additionally, he conducted the final interview with President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the 2024 race. Holt was also selected to moderate the first presidential debate of 2016, which was the most watched debate in American history.
During 2020, he led the network’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, anchoring weekly NBC prime-time specials to better inform millions of viewers during those initial days of uncertainty. During that time, he also launched “Nightly News: Kids Edition,” a digital newscast aimed to inform and educate children during an especially challenging year. The Emmy-nominated series has won a Webby People’s Voice Award, a Global Youth & News Media Prize and the New York Festivals TV & Film Silver Award.
Throughout his career, Holt has also covered dozens of natural disasters including multiple West Coast wildfires and deadly hurricanes and tornadoes. Some other notable reporting trips include anchoring from South Africa during the Nelson Mandela memorial service, reporting from Cairo on the political and civil unrest in Egypt during the Arab Spring, covering the 2010 earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan, and reporting on the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He was also embedded with U.S. forces reporting on the ongoing military operations in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012.
Over the past several years, Holt has distinguished himself as the leading broadcast journalist on criminal justice reform. In 2019, he led the Emmy-nominated and groundbreaking series “Justice for All” across all NBC News platforms and “Dateline.” For the networkwide series, Holt spent three days embedded inside Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in America, and moderated the first-ever televised town hall from a maximum-security prison at Sing Sing, all putting a bright spotlight on mass incarceration and the many complex issues around it. Additionally, Holt has reported on several high-profile justice-related stories and landed many exclusive interviews, including the first interview with rapper Meek Mill following his release from prison, an interview with Matthew Charles, the first person released under the First Step Act, and the first interview with Cyntoia Brown Long since her release from prison.
Before becoming co-anchor of “Weekend TODAY” in 2003, Holt anchored “Lester Holt Live,” a daily news show on MSNBC. Holt served as a primary anchor for MSNBC’s coverage of major news events, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war in Afghanistan, and he was the lead daytime anchor for MSNBC’s coverage of Decision 2000. Holt also served as anchor of “Countdown: Iraq,” a nightly news telecast concentrating on the latest developments surrounding buildup to war in Iraq, from October 2002 through March 2003. Holt started at NBC News in 2000, anchoring “Newsfront.” Holt came to MSNBC after 14 years at WBBM-TV in Chicago, where he served as the afternoon and evening news anchor. After studying government at California State University in Sacramento, he began his television journalism career as a reporter at WCBS-TV in New York in 1981. The following year, he moved to Los Angeles to report for KCBS-TV (then KNXT) before returning to WCBS in 1984.
Holt has been recognized with numerous honors, including multiple Emmy Awards, the National Press Club Fourth Estate Award, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, Quinnipiac University’s Fred Friendly First Amendment Award and more. In 2022, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the same year “NBC Nightly News” received the 2022 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast. He received the 2025 William Allen White National Citation from the University of Kansas in April.
