Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NBC Names Lester Holt New Anchor Of Nightly News

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Brian Williams will not return to the anchor's chair of "NBC Nightly News."

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

His temporary replacement, Lester Holt, is now permanent. This makes Holt the first African-American to be the lead anchor for a broadcast network.

CORNISH: Brian Williams's troubles began early this year. In a January report, he falsely claimed he was under fire in 2003 while onboard a helicopter in Iraq. He apologized on air several days later.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS")

BRIAN WILLIAMS: I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago. It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the aircrew who were...

BLOCK: The way Williams apologized just made things worse. Other exaggerations surfaced. NBC suspended him and started an internal investigation, but it has not released the results.

CORNISH: The network does say Williams made a number of inaccurate statements about his field experiences. NBC says these statements were usually made years later and mostly on late-night programs and during public events.

BLOCK: Williams's successor, Lester Holt, joined NBC in 2000. He's been one of the co-hosts of "Weekend Today" and anchored the weekend edition of "Nightly News."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS")

LESTER HOLT: And hands-free driving. Would you believe a car that really takes you for a ride?

CORNISH: As for Brian Williams, in August, he'll begin a new assignment on the struggling cable channel MSNBC anchoring breaking news and special reports. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.