Miami Roots: Tom Llamas
It was as personal a visit back to his hometown as Tom Llamas could have imagined.
In August, Llamas – the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News – returned to Miami and brought with him the flagship daily news broadcast he is tasked with leading.
During his time in Miami, Llamas reported from Key Biscayne. He introduced Today co-host and weatherman Al Roker to Cuban food and culture in Little Havana. He met with local NBC affiliates, visited the Telemundo Center in Sweetwater, took in a Miami Marlins game with his son, Tomas, and made a stop in Coral Gables where he and his family got a behind-the-scenes look at the Hurricanes’ preparations for the 2025 season.
For a Miami native who grew up attending games at the Orange Bowl and cheering for the likes of Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta, Craig Erickson, Randal Hill, Michael Irvin and other Hurricanes greats, it was a morning to remember amidst a week of highlights.
“The Canes are, I think, the best in college football. They represent history and legacy and excellence and it’s so great to see it up close,” Llamas said. “I’ve been a Canes fan since I was my son’s age, since I can remember. And it’s just so great to see the program up close and see how much it’s grown. These facilities are beautiful. The University of Miami is a great school. The entire country is talking about UM and wanting to come to UM, so it’s cool to be here.”
During their visit to campus, Llamas and his family had the opportunity to watch practice, meet the football team and connect with Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, whose story resonates with Llamas because it’s so similar to his own.
Both Llamas and Cristobal are the sons of Cuban immigrants who came to Miami in search of freedom and better opportunities for their families.
Both have spoken at length about their parents’ work ethics and how those examples helped guide them to where they are now in their respective careers.
And while back in his hometown, Llamas – who anchors from New York City – couldn’t help but also note it was his family that instilled in him the importance of knowing what was happening in the world around him.
That knowledge – and a compelling guest speaker at his high school – opened his eyes to the possibility of a career in journalism.
“Growing up, we watched a lot of news in English and Spanish because my parents are Cuban American, so they always wanted to know what was going on around the world and in Cuba,” Llamas said. “Because of that, we were constantly talking about politics, or I was hearing about politics and issues in Cuba. So, I kind of learned about global affairs pretty early on.
“When I was a freshman at Belen [Jesuit], Louis Aguirre came for a career day. He’s a great reporter and anchor here in Miami and he said, ‘Listen, if you like writing – and I really liked writing – you can work in news, and TV news specifically.’ I didn’t even know that was a job. That’s when I got my first internship. But because of Louis, because he came in there, he set my life on a completely different track. To this day, I thank him. He’s a good friend. It started there and it just got bigger and when I was a reporter covering politics here in Miami, I just knew it was such an important job. It’s something that the community needs, but also that the country needs. I believe that to this day.”
After graduating from Belen, Llamas earned bachelor’s degrees in both broadcast journalism and drama and speech from Loyola University in New Orleans. He began his career in New York, working with NBC News as a production assistant and correspondent before returning to Miami’s NBC affiliate, WTVJ, for his first on-air reporting job.
He credits that time back in Miami with helping prepare him for some of the major national and international stories he’d eventually cover during his time at both NBC and later, ABC, where he served as the network’s chief national affairs correspondent and was the weekend anchor of World News Tonight before returning to NBC in 2021.
Among those stories? Multiple presidential campaigns and elections, extreme weather events including Hurricanes Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Florence, the Israel-Hamas war, the war in Ukraine, the Tokyo and Paris Summer Olympics, and countless other history-making moments.
Llamas has also interviewed a series of newsmakers including President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He’s won multiple Emmy Awards, Murrow Awards and was the recipient of the Presidential Award of Impact from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the El Award from El Diario, the largest and oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S.
“It’s incredible. I never thought I would be here. You always kind of work, and you have your goals, and you reach those goals, and you think about maybe the next one. But I’ve loved this career so much. It’s been an incredible experience,” Llamas said. “I’ve gotten a front-row [seat] of both local history in South Florida here, but also in New York and around the world. There are historical events my kids will read about, and I’ve been there. It’s just been an all-around great experience.
“I do pinch myself, but I come into work every day with that same energy, that same excitement of people that love what they do and the same energy and excitement that I had when I was an intern. I love this business. I love the honor and opportunity to do this.”
Earlier this year, NBC announced Llamas would succeed Lester Holt as the anchor of NBC Nightly News. Llamas took over the anchor chair in June, and is also serving as the show’s managing editor, a role he said was important to him because he wants to make sure he does more than simply deliver the news.
“There’s a standard of excellence with NBC News and I want to make sure we have the best story, that we have the most comprehensive coverage, and that we’re listening to all parts of the country,” Llamas said. “I believe in a newsroom where people are from different backgrounds and from different cultures and from different states, so you know what’s going on and you have context. I think that’s important. So, for me, it’s family style. I want to hear ideas. I want to hear if my ideas make sense. I want to hear your ideas. That way, I think you get to the best newscast.”
As busy as his schedule is gathering news, anchoring, and spending time with his family, Llamas makes it a priority to keep an eye on what’s happening back home in Miami, especially with the Hurricanes.
He spends fall Saturdays like most Miami fans – watching games, celebrating touchdowns and enjoying wins. And during the offseason, he scours websites that cover UM to learn as much as possible about the team he grew up watching and has loved all his life.
Now, he’s passing that love on to Tomas, who collected his share of autographs, handshakes and high-fives during the family’s visit to Coral Gables.
“I mean, watching teams that were unstoppable was so great. Watching players that were unstoppable was so great, hearing the Orange Bowl shake,” Llamas said. “There was that sort of fan community that if you were a Canes fan, you were connected to somebody, that was all incredible. That was great, in the 80s, 90s, 2000s and even now. …
“We’d throw the football around in the parking lot of the Orange Bowl and we’d get the platters of chicken drumettes from Publix and the sub sandwiches, and it was just great. It was amazing. It was great memories and then the stadium was alive. It was awesome.”
