Lester Holt, anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News" for a decade and the first African American solo anchor on a nightly network news program, announced on Feb. 24 that he is stepping down from the broadcast at the beginning of the summer.

"Holt will continue to be a fixture at the network with a full-time role at "Dateline," where he has been the principal anchor for almost 15 years, according to a memo shared with network staff," Daniel Arkin reported for NBC.

"After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of "Nightly News,'" Holt told colleagues. "It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do," Holt said in a memo to staffers. "But before we play the walk off music, I have another announcement. I'm excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of "Dateline NBC," but for the first time in a full-time capacity whereby I will be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting "Dateline" hours on subjects I care deeply about. I am thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at "Dateline" as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places."

While Holt did not emphasize his race on air, he told Journal-isms when he was named in 2015 that he has "a strong sensitivity" about the story of race and that "It’s a story that, among others, we’ll be going at aggressively." He also said then that he expected to pay more attention to how technology affects our lives, and that Asian American and Latino journalists are in the NBC pipeline who could one day follow him into the anchor chair.

The National Association of Black Journalists added to Holt's many honors in 2016 when it named him Journalist of the Year.When Holt accepted the award at a reception at NBC's New York headquarters, then-NABJ president Sarah Glover said, "He has done so much--the journalism excellence that he exudes day after day is the gold standard. We thank you for shining a light on great journalism and for leading the way."

Holt, a native Californian, has worked in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Chicago and New York and said at the occasion, "Our diversity in newsrooms simply makes us better. When we sit in our editorial meetings every afternoon at "Nightly News," that diversity of race, culture and sexual identity--all of those things come into place when we start discussing news of the day and everybody can bring something to the table. That just simply makes us better journalists. So, I want to applaud NABJ for what the organization continues to do, it's incredibly vital." He also discussed there the Black anchors who came before him, mentioning Max Robinson, Carole Simpson, Bryant Gumbel and Bernard Shaw. "These are people that opened the doors for people like me to walk through and therefore it's incumbent on all of us to remember that many of us are the products of great mentors."

Editor's Addition: Prior to this article being reprinted for N2Entertainment.net, NBC announced that Tom Llamas will take over for Holt as the newest anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Llamas is currently a senior national correspondent for NBC News and anchor of "Top Story with Tom Llamas" on NBC News NOW, the network's 24/7 live news stream. The award-winning journalist will continue to host "Top Story" once he officially takes over Holt's anchor role this summer.

In a statement for NBC, Llamas said "Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility. 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 is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time. Just like Lester, (Holt) I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Washington Post journalist Richard Prince occasionally submits his column "Journal-isms" to "Media Matters." Prince's "Journal-isms" originates from Washington, D.C. To check out Prince's complete "Journal-ism's" columns log on to: http://mije.org.