A history of anchors of NBC's evening newscast

NBC has aired a weeknight newscast for nearly seven decades, but only a handful of anchors have presided over it. Here is the roster:

1948: "Camel Newsreel Theatre" is a 10-minute weeknight filmed report with no on-camera host.

1949: "Camel News Caravan" elevates newsreel narrator (and future Timex watch commercial spokesman) John Cameron Swayze to news-anchor status.

1956: "The Huntley-Brinkley Report." Co-anchored by seasoned journalists Chet Huntley (based in New York) and David Brinkley (in Washington), who become the first superstars of TV news. In 1963, the newscast expands from 15 minutes to a half-hour.

1970: "NBC Nightly News" is born upon Huntley's retirement, but with a misbegotten format featuring variable twosomes drawn from a trio of anchors: Brinkley, Frank McGee and John Chancellor. Viewers never know which pair of anchors to expect.

1971: Chancellor emerges as the sole Monday through Friday anchor, joined by Brinkley as co-anchor from 1976-79.

1982: Tom Brokaw steps in, with Roger Mudd co-anchoring through 1983.

2004: Brian Williams, in a plan of succession publicly announced two years before, takes over as Brokaw retires from full-time duties at NBC News.

February 2015: Lester Holt is named temporary anchor as Williams is given what the network says will be a six-month suspension.

June 18, 2015: Holt is officially named permanent "Nightly News" anchor, with Williams returning in August at the end of his six-month suspension to report breaking news for cable network MSNBC.

- The Associated Press