Names and faces
NBC News announced its professional divorce agreement with Megyn Kelly late
Friday, ending an association with the former
Fox News Channel host whose attempt to become a network morning-television star as part of the Today show floundered. Terms were not disclosed. Kelly was in the second year of a three-year contract that reportedly paid her more than $20 million a year. She had been off the air since October after creating a furor by suggesting that it was OK for white people to wear blackface on Halloween. Exit negotiations dragged on for two months over the holidays. Even before the controversial commentary, her future was considered limited at NBC News. “The parties have resolved their differences, and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC,” the network said in a statement Friday night. NBC said she’ll be replaced in the third hour of the Today show by anchors Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. Kelly made a tearful apology to viewers after her blackface comments, but it proved to be her last appearance with NBC News. Critics accused her of ignoring the ugly history of minstrel shows and movies in which whites applied blackface to mock blacks. It’s not immediately clear what’s next for Kelly. NBC would not comment Friday on whether the separation agreement allows her to write about her experiences at the network. There’s no noncompete clause, meaning Kelly is free to seek other television work if she wants to.
A Maine newspaper that horrified author Stephen King by dropping its local book review coverage used his complaint to boost digital subscriptions. King, who lives in Bang or, complained Friday about the Portland Press Herald’s decision to stop publishing freelance-written reviews of books about Maine or written by Maine authors and urged his 5.1 million Twitter followers to retweet his message. The paper responded by promising to reinstate the local book reviews if 100 of King’s followers purchased digital subscriptions to the newspaper. It reached that goal late Saturday morning. In a tweet announcing the subscriptions, the newspaper said, “You all are the best readers anywhere. Sincerely,” and, “We love you Maine. We love you journalists. We love you newspapers.”