NBC News confirmed Tom Llamas as the successor to Lester Holt as the NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor as Holt prepares to leave this summer. The responsibilities at NBC News NOW will remain with Llamas as he accepts the position of managing editor and anchor of NBC Nightly News this summer. The NBC News executive vice president of programming, Janelle Rodriguez, made this announcement on Wednesday.
“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling, and unyielding integrity,” Rodriguez said in a statement, adding that Llamas has played a key role in expanding NBC News’ digital audience.
Tom Llamas Makes History
Tom Llamas’ assignment marks a groundbreaking moment because he will be the first Latino journalist to preside over NBC Nightly News weeknights. The upcoming Saturday anchor José Díaz-Balart continues his duties, but Llamas stands as a historic first for Latino network news presenters. Speaking about his new role, Tom Llamas expressed both excitement and gratitude.
“Anchoring Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility,” he said. “I look forward to working with the world-class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night.”
Lester Holt’s Farewell and Advice to Tom Llamas
Holt made public his plan to leave the Nightly News anchor position last month. The NBC Nightly News but uses his last day to assume full-time duties at Dateline since he anchored the program for over a decade. The Nightly News broadcast would receive its message from Holt when he spoke to the staffers on Wednesday.
“I told him that anchoring Nightly News is not only one of the great jobs, but he’s also inheriting a great staff,” Holt said. “I know you all will give him 100% support during this transition.”
Llamas’ Journey to the Anchor Desk
His journey began with internships at a Telemundo station, and then he became an overnight production assistant for NBC News. His career transitioned from WTVJ reporting to WNBC reporting until he joined ABC News to serve as their chief national affairs correspondent while becoming the World News Tonight weekend anchor.
In 2021, Tom Llamas came back to NBC to serve as their senior national correspondent before taking over the responsibility of presenting Top Story. Top Story is presented by Llamas, who provides analysis on the Israel- Hamas war as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
During his tenure at NBC Nightly News, Llamas conducted crucial interviews with prominent global leaders Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. All viewers are looking forward to observing the direction Tom Llamas will take the historic broadcast as it begins a fresh chapter.
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