NBC 5 Chicago on Wednesday announced a series of changes to its weekday anchor lineup for midday, afternoon and evening newscasts.
Anchor Stefan Holt will return to NBC 5 in early October to anchor NBC 5 News at 4 p.m. with Marion Brooks and 10 p.m. with Allison Rosati.
Rob Stafford will continue his anchor role at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and devote more time to the station’s nationally recognized and award-winning NBC 5Investigates team. Stafford has a long history of investigative journalism in Chicago and nationally with NBC’s primetime news magazine Dateline.
Additionally, Patrick Fazio, current co-anchor for the station’s 4 p.m. news, will move to anchoring the 11 a.m. news and report for NBC 5 News at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“These moves allow us to welcome back a very talented anchor and boost our investigative team with a skilled investigative journalist at a time when investigative journalism is needed now more than ever,” said Frank Whittaker, Station Manager and VP of News.
Stafford has more than 30 years of experience in local and national investigative journalism. He joined WMAQ in 2007 as a news anchor, a role that he continues to hold. Before this, he spent a decade as a Chicago-based national correspondent for NBC’s award-winning newsmagazine, Dateline. During his time with Dateline, he won two national Emmy Awards for an investigation into hazing in the military and a prime time hour on the Elizabeth Smart case. In 2000, he received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his investigation into racial profiling. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Journalism from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Holt is a Chicago native who first joined NBC 5 in 2011 as a reporter. Soon after, he became anchor of the station’s morning newscasts. In 2016, Holt joined WNBC in New York, where he most recently anchored the station’s weekday afternoon and evening newscasts. Before this, he worked as a weekend anchor and reporter for WPBF in West Palm Beach and as a correspondent for Palestra.net where he covered the 2008 presidential elections and the 2007 Southern California wildfires. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Telecommunications and Political Science from Pepperdine University in California. He is an accomplished pilot, a passion he shares with his father, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt. He will be relocating to the Chicago area with his family.
“I will be forever grateful for my time in New York,” said Holt. “Anchoring alongside some of the best in our industry and during one of the most tumultuous times in our history has been a privilege, and a highlight of my career. Thank you to all of my friends at WNBC and our Tri-State area viewers for your support and trust over the past few years.”
“Chicago is the city where I grew up and where my wife and I want to raise our two boys,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited to return to my roots and reunite with my teammates at NBC 5.”
