One of the most important skills at [reporting] is not so much what comes out of your mouth but what you hear. To listen. When you interview people, it's very important to understand the nuances of what they're saying and to understand when they have actually made news-when they've told you something that they haven't told anybody else.
Lester HoltThe challenge is right now, I call it the death of critical thinking in America. It's a very worrisome development. More and more people seem to be resisting the idea of standing back and asking questions about something, challenging their beliefs.
Lester HoltThere are American citizens who have been inspired to commit acts of terror on American soil, the latest incident, of course, the bombings we just saw in New York and New Jersey, the knife attack at a mall in Minnesota, in the last year, deadly attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando.
Lester HoltI think we're more relevant than ever because it is such a noisy environment out there. What's a journalist now? It's anybody with a way to get information out and you're sitting there with your smartphone in front of you. That's what we're up against now. There's a lot of unfiltered information. Some of it is accurate, some of it way off base. We're that safe port in the storm.
Lester HoltOn more than one occasion, the camera has cut to me after a break as I'm still trying to swallow the last bite of cookie. Those of you who have thought to yourselves, 'That guy talks like he has marbles in his mouth,' should know that they are not marbles, but oatmeal cookies.
Lester Holt