Lester Crystal

Lester M. Crystal (September 13, 1934 – June 24, 2020) was an Emmy Award-winning American television news executive. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He was best known for being executive producer of the nation’s first hour-long nightly newscast, "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" (now known as the "PBS Newshour").
He joined the organization as executive producer in 1983 and was appointed president of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in 2005. He retired from the "NewsHour" in 2010. He was president of NBC News from 1977 to 1979 and executive producer of "NBC Nightly News".
Crystal died on June 24, 2020 in New York City from brain cancer, aged 85.