Jump to content

Tom Llamas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Top Story)

Tom Llamas
Born
Thomas Edward Llamas

(1979-07-02) July 2, 1979 (age 46)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Alma materLoyola University New Orleans (B.A.)
Occupation(s)Television news anchor and television journalist
Years active2000–present
EmployerNBCUniversal
AgentUTA
Notable credit(s)ABC World News Tonight Sunday (anchor/weekday correspondent) (2014–2021)
NBC News (correspondent/substitute anchor)
Top Story with Tom Llamas (anchor) (2021–present)
Today (substitute news anchor) (2021–2025)
NBC Nightly News (anchor) (2025–present)
SpouseJennifer Llamas
Children3

Thomas Edward Llamas (/ˈjɑːmɑːs/ YAH-mahs;[1] born July 2, 1979) is an American journalist working for NBC News as the anchor of NBC Nightly News and Top Story with Tom Llamas.

He worked for ABC News as the weekend anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 2014 until 2021, before joining NBC News as the senior national correspondent and anchor for NBC News Now, hosting Top Story with Tom Llamas, and serving as a substitute anchor for Today and NBC Nightly News.

On March 5, 2025, he was named the anchor (succeeding Lester Holt) and the managing editor of NBC Nightly News beginning June 2, 2025, becoming the first Latino anchor of an American nightly news broadcast.[2]

Llamas has won multiple Emmy Awards for his reporting in addition to two Edward R. Murrow awards.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Llamas was born in Miami on July 2, 1979, to Cuban immigrants who had fled the island as political refugees.[4] He attended Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Tamiami, Florida. He graduated from Loyola University New Orleans in Louisiana with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and one in drama and speech.[5] He was also a member of the Louisiana Gamma chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, a fraternity.[6][7]

Career

[edit]

Llamas began his broadcasting career at the age of 15 as an intern for the news department at WSCV in Hialeah, Florida. Llamas returned to Miami after graduating from college and working in various behind-the-scenes roles at NBC News for an on-air position at NBC affiliate WTVJ.[8]

He joined WNBC and NBC News in New York in 2009 as general-assignment reporter and anchor. In September 2014, he moved to ABC News as a New York-based correspondent[9] and substituted for David Muir on ABC World News Tonight during the Christmas 2014 break. Llamas became the Sunday anchor of ABC World News Tonight in 2015[10] and the sole weekend anchor of the program in January 2017.[11]

During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Llamas reported on the Republican candidates. He criticized the use by Jeb Bush and Donald Trump of the term "anchor baby" and was called a "sleaze" by Trump after questioning him about the amount of money he had donated to charity.[12][13]

In January 2021, it was reported that Llamas would leave ABC News and return to NBC News. His last broadcast on ABC News was on January 31, 2021.[14] In April 2021, it was announced that Llamas was named the senior national correspondent for NBC News and would anchor a primetime newscast for NBC News Now beginning May 3, 2021.[15][16] A rebroadcast of the newscast, Top Story with Tom Llamas, was added to the overnight schedule of most NBC stations on weeknights on March 28, 2022, replacing a replay of Today's fourth hour show.

On March 5, 2025, NBC News announced Llamas would be the successor to Lester Holt as anchor and the managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Llamas continues to anchor Top Story.[17] He debuted as the anchor for Nightly News on June 2, 2025.[18]

Awards

[edit]

Llamas has won several awards including an Emmy Award for "Best Anchor" and "Best Hard News Story" and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for WNBC's coverage of Hurricane Sandy.[9][19] He was awarded his first Emmy in 2008 for his reporting as the first TV journalist to work on a human smuggling interdiction at sea with the U.S. Coast Guard.[20] He won an Emmy Award in 2013 for his coverage of Hurricane Irene.

Throughout his career, Llamas has been recognized with several honors, such as the Presidential Award of Impact from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the El Award from El Diario La Prensa. In 2022, he and his team earned NAHJ’s Al Neuharth Award for excellence in investigative reporting. He was also a member of the WNBC team that received a Murrow Award in 2014 for their live coverage of Hurricane Sandy.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

Llamas and his wife, Jennifer have three children. The family lived for three years in a Midtown East three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan before moving to Purchase in Harrison, New York in 2022.[21] Llamas and his wife are Catholic.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Spera, Keith. "Meet Tom Llamas, the Loyola University grad who is the new 'NBC Nightly News' anchor," The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), Sunday 1 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ^ "The Tom Llamas Era Begins on NBC Nightly News". June 3, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Loyola alumni, NBC anchor and producer kicks-off centennial, speaks to journalism students" (Press release). Loyola University New Orleans. April 10, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Zizmor, Jordana (June 6, 2012). "An Interview with Tom Llamas". HuffPost. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "Tom Llamas' ABC News Biography". ABC News. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  6. ^ "MSN". msn.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  7. ^ "Instagram". instagram.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  8. ^ Marr, Madeleine (June 2, 2025). "'It's an honor': Miami's own Tom Llamas on taking over a national nightly newscast"". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on June 5, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Ariens, Chris (September 3, 2014). "Tom Llamas Leaves WNBC for ABC News". Adweek. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Team, The Deadline (March 2, 2015). "Cecilia Vega & Tom Llamas New 'ABC World News Tonight' Weekend Anchors". Deadline. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  11. ^ Moraes, Lisa de (January 30, 2017). "Tom Llamas Named Anchor Of ABC's 'World News Tonight' Weekend Editions". Deadline. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  12. ^ Wemple, Erik (May 31, 2016). "How to get Donald Trump to call you a 'sleaze' on national television". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ Kopan, Tal (August 21, 2015). "Trump blasts ABC News, demands apology". CNN.
  14. ^ Steinberg, Brian (January 26, 2021). "ABC News Anchor Tom Llamas Will Jump to NBC News". Variety. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  15. ^ Johnson, Ted (April 26, 2021). "Tom Llamas Joins NBC News As Anchor And Senior National Correspondent". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Steinberg, Brian (April 26, 2021). "Tom Llamas Joins NBC News as Primetime Anchor for Live-Streaming Service". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Arkin, Daniel (March 5, 2025). "Tom Llamas will succeed Lester Holt as anchor of 'NBC Nightly News'". NBC News. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  18. ^ Weprin, Alex (June 5, 2025). "The Twilight of Evening News: Anchor Swaps, Trust Gaps and a Looming AI Threat". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  19. ^ "2013 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award Winners". Radio Television Digital News Association. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  20. ^ "Tom Llamas". NBC New York. December 14, 2011. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012.
  21. ^ Bahr, Sarah (October 26, 2024). "How Tom Llamas, an NBC Anchor Spends His Sundays". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  22. ^ Bahr, Sarah (October 27, 2024). "At Home, Plenty of Good News". The New York Times. p. MB2. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
Media offices
Preceded by NBC Nightly News Weekday Edition Anchor
2025–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tom_Llamas&oldid=1300925298"