Report: NBC's Hiring Of Lester Holt's Son Causes Stir

Stefan Holt

Newsroom insiders are grumbling about Lester Holt's son Stefan Holt joining WNBC-TV4  in Rock Center to co-anchor the network's new 4 p.m. news telecast, which launches in May.

Some even suspect the station played down the relationship in an official announcement that failed to mention who Holt's father is, and his relationship to NBC News.

That detail was not lost on veteran reporters who wanted the job.

“That has gone over like a lead balloon with anchors who feel they've paid their dues,” according to one TV news insider.

“Stefan is talented, but only 29,” and insider told The NY Daily News. “There are a lot of other people who have worked really hard for many years for an opportunity like that. It's a plum New York gig and here it goes to a 29-year-old kid who gets plucked out of Chicago.”

Congrats to @stefholtNBC So proud of you kid. First lunch in 30 Rock commissary is on me.

— Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) February 16, 2016

Cozy family relationships have somehow become a way of life at 30 Rock, where big names sometimes outweigh resumes.

Luke Russert, whose beloved and respected NBC newsman dad died in 2008, was brought in to cover politics that same year despite being just 23 years old and fresh out of college. And Allison Williams, the 27-year-old daughter of disgraced anchorman Brian Williams, was cast in the lead role of the network's live presentation of "Peter Pan" last year.

“People at the network are saying that NBC stands for the 'Nothing But Children,'” reports The News.

According to that source, if your last name is famous enough, you don't necessarily even have to be related to anyone in the NBC family to land a correspondent job. Both Jenna Bush and Chelsea Clinton were given on-air gigs with the Peacock network despite a lack of experience. Ronan Farrow, the now 28-year-old son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, was given a gig at NBC's sister cable network MSNBC in 2014. That show lasted one year.