Lester Holt, the anchor for NBC’s weekend edition of “Nightly News” and the co-host for the weekend edition of the “Today” show, started his career at WCBS-TV in New York City in 1981. Holt also anchored “Lester Holt Live”, a daily news show on MSNBC covering breaking news. He has reported on the biggest issues of the last several years, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Holt will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Emerson Suites as this year’s Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecturer.
Assistant News Editor Jackie Palochko spoke with Holt about his most challenging assignment, his initial interest in broadcast and how he spends his free time.

Jackie Palochko: How did you become interested in broadcast journalism?

Lester Holt: My interest was actually first in radio. I did it in the early part of my career. I worked at a music station, and I was a radio newsperson in California. Television was not something I really aspired towards. Radio was my real love. … A former radio boss that was working in television convinced me to come down and do an audition and meet with the news executives, and next thing I know, they’re offering me a job. I ended up loving television.

JP: You’re the anchor of the weekend edition of “NBC Nightly News” and co-host for the “Today” show on the weekend. Which do you prefer?

LH: I like them both. I love doing the “Today” show because it allows you to exercise virtually all of your news muscles, it’s everything from very hard, serious news to lifestyles. The format of the show is to really show your personality. Whereas on the “Nightly News,” we get down to business. That particular show plays to my hard-news roots.

JP: What’s been your favorite assignment so far, and what’s been the most challenging one?

LH: I’ve been in television for almost 30 years, so it’s hard to single one out. Every journalist will tell you that 9/11 was the most difficult story. The last story I do is always my favorite.

JP: You’ve been in places such as Lebanon, reporting on the war. Was there ever an instance in which you were concerned about your safety?

LH: Obviously when you’re in a war zone, safety is a concern. But I’ve done stories domestically in some high-crime areas, in which I’ve been equally concerned about my safety. … We take a lot of precautions going into war zones. We have security people with us, who can advise us and tell us where to be and where not to go. We do a lot of homework before going.

JP: Do you have advice for aspiring journalists?

LH: Journalism is not dying, but it is changing. We have to adapt. When I got into the business, people didn’t want to hear my opinion, and I didn’t want to give my opinion. That was a taboo. Now we’re seeing a lot more publications and broadcasts that seem to thrive on opinion. More important, I tell people that you have to be good at more than one thing. The economics require you bring a lot more to the table.

JP: When you do have free time, what do you enjoy doing?

LH: I enjoy music; I’m a bass player. I like jazz, so occasionally I perform with friends in New York City jazz clubs. I also study Italian for four hours a week. Those are my two passions.