No comfort

One of my favourite US sites, TV Newser, brings us the announcement that NBC news presenter Lester Holt will be fronting Dateline NBC, as well as his regular gigs on weekend "Today" and "Nightly News".

An element of the report tickled me. Apparently, Lester's "nickname is Iron Pants around the office, a testament to his work ethic". Two things here - first, are we sure Iron Pants is a nickname driven by someone's hard work ? And second, anyone got any office nicknames for UK news presenters ?

• USAF General Curtis LeMay, who planned and carried out bombing of Japan in the Second World War, was known as "Old Iron Pants". Stalin supporter Vyacheslav Molotov was christened "Iron Pants" for his negotiating toughness, also in the Second World War.  CBS' Walter Cronkite acquired the  nickname, not for being unflappable, but because "he never seemed to need a bathroom break". This legend started when the networks began to report political conventions from pods swinging high in the conference centres, miles from decent plumbing.  It's this heritage that might explain Lester's handle.