NBC's Lester Holt focuses on community during cross-country tour

Holt said when national programs show up in communities, it's usually because something bad has happened. But the point of this trip was to tell interesting stories of real people.

"The whole idea was to get into conversations, tap (into) what's making news in certain parts of the country," Holt said.

Anchoring the news each night from New York is great, Holt said, but it doesn't have the same feel as being embedded in a city where a story is happening. Holt, a former reporter, said he still wanted to get out and report even after he became an anchor, which is part of what sparked his trip.

"You have a this great community — the Triangle," Holt said. "(But) I'm talking to the entire nation, so I don't have that sense of community. So, getting out, it helps me kind of understand what people are talking about.

"New York is awesome, but it can be a bubble if you let it be a bubble."