NBC Nightly News Anchor Lester Holt visited Eyewitness News Friday morning and stressed the importance of compassion and respect in news coverage.
He also spoke about what it was like taking the helm at NBC Nightly News. He permanently replaced Brian Williams as anchor in June, but had already been filling in as Nightly News anchor for nearly four months.
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"It was a really difficult time and a lot of pressure being that guy," Holt said. "I had these night sweats. 'I'm going to fill in and the ratings are going to fall to No. 3 and I'm going to take the fall. I don't want any part of this.' It was a really really stressful period."
Then he got the call to take over the position for good.
"I was about to go on vacation in June and I was called in and they said, 'You're going to be the next anchor of NBC Nightly News.' I knew it was a possibility. It's kind of a big deal because most of you grew up watching these broadcasts."
After a few quiet days of vacation, Holt joked that his wife began to doubt his story. "'Are you sure you understood them?'" she asked. But once he got back home, the phone started ringing off the hook.
Holt said he's a reporter at heart and enjoys taking Nightly News on location. Since he's become anchor, he's delivered the news at breaking news scenes like the Umpqua Community college shooting in Oregon and the immigration crisis in Hungary.
"We'll continue to respond as stories warrant," he said. "If I can go and bring added value and maybe land an interview that we might not always get."
Holt has also worked in Chicago, so we asked him, "Whose pizza is better? Chicaco or New York?"
He's a New York guy.
"New York pizza does have that little grease thing," he said. "You fold it and the grease comes down on your tie."
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Here's some more photos from Holt's visit:
