NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt spoke at the 37th Annual NAMIC Conference in New York as part of Diversity Week.

The session, moderated by Holt’s NBC News colleague Morgan Radford, discussed newsroom diversity, accessibility for aspiring journalists, and elevated reporter status.

“It’s so vitally important to have people in the newsroom who have different experiences in life,” Holt said during the conference. “Certainly within the organization, as well as the industry as a whole, I think there is a recognition that people want to turn on the TV and see people that kind of look like them or maybe have had experiences kind of like them. 

“I think from a storytelling purpose, which is what we do every night – we’re storytellers – it’s so vitally important to have people in the newsroom who have different experiences in life.”

Furthermore, Lester Holt noted why he feels being a reporter is a “high calling.” While he now resides behind the desk, anchoring the news, Holt revealed the joy of being out on the field and covering an ongoing situation. 

“To me, the joy in this job is being out and covering stories,” Holt continued. “Sitting at that wonderful plexiglass desk every night with all the monitors and stuff, it’s prestigious. It’s an important job. 

“But I always look back, I think, the most thrilling, interesting, fascinating moments of my career have not been in the studio. They’ve been outside the studio. Being a reporter is the highest calling, not being the anchor, but being a reporter. And so I take that to heart every day, and that’s kind of the principle I think most of us stand on.”

In April, Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News settled after the company filed a lawsuit against the media outlet. However, Rupert Murdoch, Chair of Fox Corporation and Executive Chairman of News Corp, might have miscalculated how much he’d have to pay in a settlement. 

In his new book, The Fall: The End of FOX News and the Murdoch Dynasty, Michael Wolff wrote that Murdoch believed he would pay $50 million when Dominion sued for $1.6 billion. 

Wolff writes: “Money. ‘This lawsuit could cost us fifty million dollars,’ [Murdoch] said quietly, but clearly.” Nonetheless, the two “ended up settling on $787.5 million. It is unclear what the settlement entailed. 

Tucker Carlson, formerly a Fox News host, claims that his termination was part of the agreement, which both Fox News and Dominion deny. Smartmatic, another maker of election machines, has filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News.

A Fox News spokesperson commented on the note from Wolff’s book: “The fact that this author’s books are spoofed by Saturday Night Live is really all we need to know.”

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) has been a frequent guest on CNN in recent weeks. He’s now revealed why he’s appeared so often.

In an interview with The New York Post, Buck admitted he’s hoping to land a role as a contributor with the network.

“I am interested in talking to folks at CNN and other news organizations — on the, I don’t want to call them left, but sort of center-left — and having an opportunity to do that full-time or do that as a contributor would be great also,” said Buck.

The Post added that Buck later stated that he’s also interested in speaking with Fox News and Newsmax about potential roles, adding “I didn’t want to give you the impression that I’ve only talked to folks at CNN, on the left. I’ve also talked to others about this.”

Ken Buck has been critical of his Republican colleagues for their insistence on opening impeachment inquiries against President Joe Biden.

The 64-year-old’s admission that he’s interested in a role at CNN comes days after he wrote there was “no evidence” that Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin “was engaged in an investigation of Burisma” and Hunter Biden — the President’s son — before he was removed from his position.

The Colorado Congressman isn’t the only representative with close ties to cable news. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been a regular fill-in host on Newsmax in recent months.