PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: LESTER HOLT: ANCHORING NEWS IN THE DIGITAL AGE {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening honors the career of news journalist Lester Holt, currently lead anchor of "NBC Nightly News" and "Dateline NBC."
Host Maureen Reidy (President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces a brief clip reel of Holt's work, including political conversations, coverage of natural disasters, and scenes of international conflict.
After the clips, colleague Andrea Mitchell (anchor, "Andrea Mitchell Reports") welcomes Holt to the stage. The conversation touches on such topics as: his impact as the first African-American lead anchor of a nightly news program, including his interest in inspiring young viewers; his admiration for Bernard Shaw, Carole Simpson, Bryant Gumbel and other trailblazers; adapting to the digital age of news, in which any person with a smartphone is "competition" for reporting on a story; the seemingly "slow" process of fact-checking a story before going on the air, with the example of a November 2017 conflict in London that was exaggerated by witnesses on social media; the importance of gaining experience in local news, and why writing is "the heart" of news reporting; the creation of the "Those Who Serve" segment to highlight positive stories about firefighters, police officers and others; why it is "not editorial" to express empathy and sadness over upsetting stories of human suffering; his concern over becoming "numb" to tragic stories, with the example of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida and the survivors' subsequent activism; his sense of guilt at departing scenes of tragedy to focus on other stories; how his family life affects his work, including son Stefan's role as a news anchor for WNBC; the challenge of keeping up with a rapid series of breaking stories and "becoming experts" on many topics; his recent travels to Korea, and how North Korea's extremely strict policies for visitors contradict a reporter's inquisitive instincts; being "in the moment" of a story, including his witnessing of a federal execution; how he juggles the weekly "Dateline" episodes with his daily work on "Nightly News"; his infamous May 2017 interview with Donald Trump, in which Trump openly admitted to obstruction of justice in firing FBI Director James Comey because of the Bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election; his "intense" preparation for his role as moderator of the first Presidential debate in September 2016; the excessive media scrutiny over the event and his subsequent doubts that journalists should serve in the moderator role; his love of music and the importance of having hobbies while undertaking a stressful job; selecting the day's top story and why it sometimes "chooses itself," as with the resignation of White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; his interest in being transparent and honest with viewers about the information and sources behind the stories on which he reports; why one cannot "tweet or insult away" the 70-year history and integrity of NBC News; the distinction between false and inaccurate news; his preference for respectful, calm interviews in which he "puts people at ease"; the importance of affiliate relationships and why local news should indeed focus on local events; determining what viewers need to know, and why the news is "not meant to make you happy"; and a harrowing incident from May 2015 in which he reported on the Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia from a helicopter.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 132250
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Maureen Reidy … Host
- Andrea Mitchell … Moderator
- Lester Holt … Panelist
- James Comey
- Bryant Gumbel
- Hope Hicks
- Stefan Holt
- Bernard Shaw
- Carole Simpson
- Donald Trump