Lester Holt reveals why hes leaving Nightly News but staying at NBC

Longtime “NBC Nightly News” host Lester Holt revealed why he’s stepping away from the anchor desk — but remaining at the Peacock Network, saying he “still has gas in the tank.”In a sitdown with Variety, the 66-year-old newsman reflected on his 22-year career at the network, his fast-approaching exit from the chair once occupied by Tom Brokaw at the end of the month and his desire to return to his reporting roots at NBC’s “Dateline.”“It wasn’t like one moment of epiphany,” Holt said of his decision to exit the anchor chair after 10 years.“I never saw myself doing this job forever.”Holt said he made up his mind about his future after a long conversation with his wife.

“I decided that I needed to come off the ‘Nightly’ gig, but I still had gas in the tank,” he saidHolt’s departure from evening news didn’t come as a surprise to media insiders.The hiring of Tom Llamas, a popular ABC News anchor, in 2021 had sparked much speculation about succession plans.

Llamas, 45, will takeover for Holt on May 30.Viewers can still catch Holt on the newsmagazine program “Dateline,” where the veteran journalist has had a presence over the past 15 years.The assignment to move to the show full time, Holt said, provides him more freedom than his anchoring gig.“We’re still doing journalism, but these are hour and two-hour shows we’re doing,'” he said.

“Some of the stories you’ll see me doing will be months in the making.”Holt said he is looking forward to flex “some different news muscles” with the fulltime reporting position.“I once spent two nights in prison for a ‘Dateline’ (episode) and I’ve done heartbreaking stories on the asthma crisis and the economy,” he said.“I’ve done a lot of things that are outside of what many would think is a traditional ‘Dateline,’ but I want to do more of those, and I want to be able to tell a producer, ‘Yes, I’ll be there for that interview next week,’ because I won�...