Lester Holt achieved which historic milestone in his role as a major network newscast anchor?

• A. First Asian-American anchor
• B. First African-American solo weeknight anchor
• C. First female anchor on weeknights
• D. First Latino anchor on a major network

Answer: (B)

Milestones like this show when someone breaks new ground at the top levels of national news. Lester Holt became the first African-American to anchor a major network’s weeknight flagship newscast by himself. In 2015 he took over NBC Nightly News as the solo weeknight anchor, a role previously held in the same desk by non-Black anchors and not typically filled by a single person of color on the weekday lineup. The emphasis is on both the racial milestone and the solo, weekday anchor position, which together mark a historic shift in who leads prime-time network news.