Veteran news anchor and Florida native Tom Llamas will debut Monday night as the new host of NBC Nightly News . Gulf Coast News anchors Peter Busch and Kellie Burns sat down with Llamas for a one-on-one interview on how he plans to blend local and national coverage.
Llamas emphasized the importance of focusing on telling the stories that matter to viewers.
“We are going to be there for you guys,” Llamas said. “Just like you’re there for your viewers, we’re going to be there for viewers all across America.”
Llamas said one of his goals as NBC Nightly News anchor is to launch an investigative series focusing on the insurance industry, particularly looking at how it impacts homeowners during hurricanes and wildfires. “It’s hard to find an insurer in Florida,” he said. "We are doing stories and investigations about people seeing six different claim adjusters for one incident. That's not fair to people. Why does that happen? We want to find out."
Llamas also revealed plans to anchor a full week of broadcasts from Miami and keep a reporting team stationed in Florida to cover key issues, including politics, environmental stories, and immigration. “Florida is one of the states of the future,” he said.
In the interview, Llamas credited local stations for their vital role in keeping communities informed, particularly during major storms.
“Local news is more important than ever,” he said. “(With) so much misinformation, disinformation, people are getting inundated with Facebook messages and text alerts, and you need to know what's real." Adding that, being hyperlocal and telling people what is going on in their communities is something only the local stations can do.
Before wrapping up, Llamas shared insights from his predecessor, Lester Holt, about maintaining integrity and balancing family life with the demands of the job.
“He is an incredible journalist, but he is also an incredible man,” he said.
Llamas promised Gulf Coast viewers that they can rely on NBC Nightly News for timely and accurate reporting. “They are going to get the story. They are going to get the truth, and we are going to be there for them.”
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas debuts Monday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. on Gulf Coast NBC (WBBH-TV).
Watch the full interview above.
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