Stefan Holt jiggles an almost naked toddler on his hip while his 3-year-old presses his face to the camera to let me know his favorite foods are breakfast and lunch.
I’m used to seeing the NBC 5 news anchor on a large TV screen, not a Zoom window on my computer, but as usual he’s in control, taking everything in his stride with that famous calm demeanor.
Holt and his wife, Morgan, are looking forward to spending their second Christmas in their Naperville home with their three sons.
“We were looking for a place with character, plus good schools and an easy commute,” he said. “My wife’s boss lives here and invited us to spend the weekend with him. We fell in love with Naperville at first sight.”
Another thing Holt loves is his job. He began working for NBC 5 (WMAQ-Channel 5) in 2011, moved to WNBC-TV in New York in 2016 and returned to the station four years later.
“Every day is different. It’s not just about reading from a teleprompter,” he said. “Many times there is breaking news so all your preparation goes out of the window. You have to rely on your experience, your instinct. Individuals on air are only as good as the people behind the scenes, and I’m very proud of our team.”
Before he heads to work at 1 p.m., Holt’s schedule wraps around the family and all the chaos that’s part of dressing and feeding 5-year-old Henry, 3-year-old Sam and 14-month-old James and doing the school run.
“When I arrive at the office, I first meet with the team members and producers,” said Holt, who co-anchors the 4 p.m. news with Marion Brooks. “I get a briefing on the big stories of the day that are being worked on and plan how we’re going to present them. A lot of times you’re all prepared then at 3:59, things change and you’re flying by the seat of your pants.
“Once the producers hand over their scripts, I’ll work through them like a copy editor making sure everything’s correct and if I maybe need to check how to pronounce a difficult name,” he said. “I love getting the backstory behind the headlines. We can disperse a lot of information in a short time and I like to add a little backstory if I can.”
It helps, too, that he enjoys an excellent rapport with his co-anchors.
“It would be exhausting if we didn’t like each other,” he said. “In the breaks, we catch up on family news. It’s not easy being a journalist so it’s a way to de-stress. We celebrate with each other. Rob Stafford is retiring soon and we will miss him. He’s a passionate storyteller. I imagine I’ll be filling him in for him a lot but I’ll roll with the changes.”
Of course, it’s not all fun; news anchors are often the first ones to convey news about local and national tragedies to the public.
The recent story about the murder-suicide at a home in Buffalo Grove was especially hard, he said.
“As a parent, you relate to these stories,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take a pause in the commercial break.”
Holt was called away from a family pool party on the Fourth of July when the Highland Park shooting at a town parade occurred.
“I got a call and had to take off to work. I had to tell people about a joyous occasion that was totally destroyed by a horrible shooting,” he said. “I do grow tired of reporting on all the gun violence here.”
When he was reporting on the tornadoes in Naperville and Woodridge last year, not everyone wanted to talk to him.
“Some people didn’t want cameras in their faces, but I don’t take offense as long as they understand we are trying to be empathetic,” he said. “On the hardest day in some people’s lives, my job is to get to the heart of the story. You have to maintain a level of respect and trust.”
One recent change viewers couldn’t help but notice was that the male anchors have stopped wearing ties in the afternoon.
“It was a decision of the station group to reflect the pandemic world when so many people meet on Zoom or are working from home,” Holt said. “We are trying to reflect the change in society. Our goal is to present a friendlier approach.
“We’ve had lots of positive feedback from younger viewers although it is a shock to the system. I have a lot of ties I no longer get to wear. When I first went on air without one, I felt I was forgetting something.”
Last week Holt added another Emmy to his collection when he received the Outstanding Achievement for News Gathering Award for his story “Flying Under the Radar – Mental Health in the Cockpit.” As the holder of a private pilot’s license, it’s a cause that’s close to his heart as aviation is embedded in his family.
“One of my first flights was in a small plane from Aero Estates (in) Naperville,” he said. “I was in third grade and we all had to wear flight suits. The plane was owned by one of my father’s friends, who was a United Airlines pilot.
“My dad’s dad was in the Air Force and my other grandfather worked for Boeing. My mom was a flight attendant for UA and my uncle an airline pilot. I thought about it as a career but in high school I was fascinated by so many topics. I ended up studying political science in college.”
Dad, of course is national NBC news anchor Lester Holt, who spent 14 years in Chicago as a news anchor at WBBM-Channel 2. Holt, 35, was born in Chicago the same year his father took the job.
His son laughed when asked if he had plans to succeed his father one day.
“My dad is so happy about what he is doing and as a son, I support him,” he said. “I’m so proud of him. My father is my ultimate role model. I try to emulate him in broadcasting and in the way I raise my kids. His advice to me has always been to show that compassion and empathy and to spend more time listening than talking.”
Despite his busy schedule, Holt enjoys being part of the Naperville community. He’s a big supporter of Bridge Communities’ mission to help the homeless and of Naperville’s local TV station, NCTV17.
“I love NCTV,” Holt said. “They do a phenomenal job of covering things in the community. Channel 5 covers such a big area; we are all over the place. It’s hard for us to get hyper local news. That’s where NCTV really shines.”
All in all, it’s a pretty good life, he said.
“I’m in a great spot,” he said. “NBC 5 Chicago is number three in the country (for market size), we have wonderful friends here in Naperville and this is where we want to be.”
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved to Naperville from England in 2007.
