On December 2, 2016, the Montclair State University School of Communication and Media honored Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Dateline NBC with the 2016 Allen B. DuMont Broadcaster of the Year Award. What has been overshadowed during the much-celebrated event was the effect of Holt\u2019s visit upon the students who also reported on the day\u2019s festivities. It seems they, too, were honored \u2013 by Holt\u2019s appearance and his message.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Three student journalists and broadcasters \u2013 Tyler Rosenberg, Samantha Williams and Luis Ari Lopez Wei, wrote stories for various student media platforms.<\/p>\n
Holt\u2019s first stop on campus was an interview for Carpe Diem, the School of Communication and Media\u2019s student weekly produced public affairs program. Rosenberg, a senior in the School, directed the episode. He says, \u201cGetting the opportunity to work with two incredible talents such as Lester Holt and Professor Marc Rosenweig [the show\u2019s host] was a humbling experience. They made the show run very smooth, they fed off of one another and their level of professionalism was very distinct.\u201d The Holt episode is scheduled to air on YouTube later this month and on Comcast and Cablevision in northern New Jersey in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the Carpe Diem episode, I really enjoyed when he told us to be a Swiss Army Knife,\u201d said Williams, a senior in the School and the news director for WMSC, the university\u2019s student-run radio station. \u201cBeing able to cover light, hard and breaking news…to be able to do it all. It was a great metaphor. He was also a super kind and genuine person and it was an honor to be able to speak with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lopez Wei\u2019s feature story on the visit was reported for The Montclarion, the student-run newspaper, and it can be read at: https:\/\/themontclarion.org\/news\/montclair-state-names-nbcs-lester-holt-broadcaster-year\/<\/a><\/p>\n After the Carpe Diem interview and award presentation, School Director Merrill Brown provided introductory comments to the Colloquium event. \u201cAt a time where the journalism profession is coming under intense scrutiny and criticism, it\u2019s reassuring to know that a man of NBC Anchor Lester Holt\u2019s experience, judgment and integrity will continue to be one of the most important voices going forward as we enter a presidential era certain to be unlike any period before it in terms of the relationship of the government and the press. Holt will continue to be an extremely positive role model to our students who aspire to become the broadcasters, journalists and media professionals of the future.\u201d<\/p>\nAttached Media<\/h2>\n