Kelly seeks zone free of Trump trauma
New York, Sept. 22: Megyn Kelly says she left Fox News Channel to bring more joy to her life.
NBC hopes that starting Monday, she can spread some to the network and its viewers. The former Fox News Channel star and Donald Trump foil debuts her talk show at 9am.
EDT, nestled into the four-hour Today show block and competing in most of the country with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest’s Live!
Ms Kelly hosted a Sunday-night newsmagazine this summer to middling ratings, and it returns next spring. It’s the daily talk show, in the lucrative morning market, that will ultimately determine the wisdom of NBC News’ decision to hire her. She promises that Megyn Kelly Today, shown live with a studio audience, will be an informationpacked hour with a sense of fun. “It will be very similar to the Today show, but we’re going to have a lot more elbow room,” she said in an interview.
The Trump trauma wasn’t why she left Fox, Kelly said. She compared it to her decision to abandon law to become a journalist and ending her first marriage: they weren’t bad
I don’t want to talk about Trump all day. In fact, the bar is very high for Trump coverage (on Megyn Kelly Live). I think people are looking for a break from that. — Megyn Kelly, NBC anchor
experiences, but she knew there was something better. The truth, Ms Kelly said, is that she’s not a political junkie and cable television news is all about politics.
“I don’t want to talk about Trump all day,” she said. “In fact, the bar is very high for Trump coverage (on Megyn Kelly Live. If you want Trump, you can watch virtually every channel in the country and get Trump nonstop. I think people are looking for a break from that. Not just Trump, it’s inside the Beltway. I don’t want to talk about Mitch McConnell either, or Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi.”
Live! With Kelly and Ryan is a celebrity and entertainment-oriented talk show. Ms Kelly said her programme will be uplifting and more substantive: recent trial runs had segments on reacting to the Equifax breach and protecting yourself from attack. Mental health, bullying, coping with divorce and tips for job interviews are the type of topics she’ll cover. Not news, but not fluff, either. Trying to imitate the formula of “Live!” would be a huge mistake, said Bill Carroll, a consultant.