Megyn Kelly Takes Aim at NBC News

 

In her first interview since leaving NBC News, Megyn Kelly isn’t holding back about the problems at her former workplace. Here’s a clip from our friends at Grabien,

Over at the Washington Examiner, we’re getting a better picture of why Kelly left NBC in the first place, and not surprisingly, they didn’t pay hand over fist to remove the former Fox anchor because of a silly “black-face” controversy. Tiana Lowe reports,

When NBC abruptly reneged on their $69 million, three-year contract with Megyn Kelly after an insensitive but obviously unintentional gaffe about blackface, some — myself included — hypothesized that the overhyped incident was simply a convenient excuse for something else. Nearly a year later, Ronan Farrow’s explosive reporting on the lengths NBC went to shut down his investigation into Harvey Weinstein grants further credence to an unpalatable, sexist, and abhorrent rationale for Kelly’s firing: NBC wanted to silence Kelly’s coverage of their former anchor, Matt Lauer.

In the weeks before the blackface nothingburger, Kelly spent ample amounts of time on her talk show reporting on the numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations plaguing Lauer. Unlike many of her fellow daytime hosts, Kelly had covered the #MeToo beat in scrupulous and, at times, necessarily unsavory detail: conducting explosive interviews with multiple Weinstein victims, and when the Lauer story broke and his termination from NBC came shortly thereafter, Kelly covered it with the same righteous indignation.

On live television, Kelly called on her own employers to allow an external team to investigate the network’s handling of the entire Lauer affair, and she went so far as to interview one of Lauer’s accuser on air.

It’s a massive gamble to criticize the ethics of your own employer on national television, but Kelly rightly made that bet. And NBC fired her for it. We can be more confident thanks to new reporting by Farrow.

Thankfully for the sake of the historical record, Ronan Farrow’s book is shining a light on what happened to Kelly and the dark underbelly of NBC. It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, active on the “MeToo” beat outside of Yashar Ali will take a moment to apologize to Kelly for throwing her under the bus after a supposed gaffe to acknowledge how the important work she was doing led to unemployment (however lucrative).

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  1. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    NBC spends all damn day propagandizing for the left and they are a #MeToo cesspool. No Democrat is going to care. 

    Why isn’t the media the enemy? I don’t get why any Republicans cut the media any slack. 

    • #1
  2. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    NBC spends all damn day propagandizing for the left and they are a #MeToo cesspool. No Democrat is going to care.

    Why isn’t the media the enemy? I don’t get why any Republicans cut the media any slack.

    Self protection? Self interest? 

    The establishment is a real thing. The rot and incest goes rightward too. 

    The rest are timid or incompetent.

    • #2
  3. Jeff Hawkins Inactive
    Jeff Hawkins
    @JeffHawkins

    Let’s be clear, Megyn Kelly getting sacked wasn’t because of either getting too close to something or the gaffe, it’s because NBC, and the other “journalists” on morning TV didn’t like that someone from Republican friendly Fox was part of their family in this day and age of Orange Man Bad.

    They just found an excuse to rationalize it.

    There’s a reason why the libertarian/squishy conservative chair on the View is a revolving door and always seems to be the “difficult” one in modern media.  It’s part of the design not a response.

    • #3
  4. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    Jeff Hawkins (View Comment):

    Let’s be clear, Megyn Kelly getting sacked wasn’t because of either getting too close to something or the gaffe, it’s because NBC, and the other “journalists” on morning TV didn’t like that someone from Republican friendly Fox was part of their family in this day and age of Orange Man Bad.

    They just found an excuse to rationalize it.

    There’s a reason why the libertarian/squishy conservative chair on the View is a revolving door and always seems to be the “difficult” one in modern media. It’s part of the design not a response.

    Indeed, “the chair” , wherever it may be, is just a token to provide cover and allow the left to claim neutrality and even handedness. 

    • #4
  5. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    There is never an excuse for sexual misconduct. But I don’t know how you shut it down completely, especially in the business of television, where 90% of the women are very attractive and the ability to read a TelePrompTer is often mistaken for intelligence. 

    Add to that there are a lot of very unattractive men with the power to hand out plum assignments and award stupidly lucrative contracts. 

    • #5
  6. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    I don’t get why any Republicans cut the media any slack. 

    Love ’em or hate ’em, the media, biased as they may be, does communicate to your constituents. In all dealings, treat everyone with respect (mass murderers excluded).

     

    • #6
  7. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    Jeff Hawkins (View Comment):

    Let’s be clear, Megyn Kelly getting sacked wasn’t because of either getting too close to something or the gaffe, it’s because NBC, and the other “journalists” on morning TV didn’t like that someone from Republican friendly Fox was part of their family in this day and age of Orange Man Bad.

    They just found an excuse to rationalize it.

    There’s a reason why the libertarian/squishy conservative chair on the View is a revolving door and always seems to be the “difficult” one in modern media. It’s part of the design not a response.

    Agree fully. And supported by the experience of Kevin Williamson at The Atlantic.

    Employed 1 day.

    • #7
  8. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    I’m assuming when NBC hired Kelly they were getting someone with an Alisyn Camerota mindset, who was able to flip her on-screen persona immediately into CNN mode after leaving Fox News, and would only go where the network told her to do — i.e.,  More Roger Ailes #metoo stories on her NBC show – good. New Matt Lauer #metoo stories on her NBC show — unspoken grounds for termination (it’s also interesting that while Ailes lost his job over the allegations, not a single exec at NBC News has suffered any punishment so far over allowing the atmosphere there to fester, because the higher ups there have the same mindset as Harvey Weinstein. They’re so caring and good and on the proper side of all the key issues that any other vices they have are trivial and should be overlooked).

    • #8
  9. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    NBC is not a stand-alone entity; it is owned by Comcast.  Similarly, CNN is owned by AT&T, and ABC is owned by Disney. 

    I think these networks should be referred to by their full corporate identities, viz:  “CNN, a subsidiary of telecommunications giant AT&T” and similarly for the others.

    I wrote about this topic here.

     

     

    • #9
  10. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    So, where will Megyn Kelly end up?  Who cares . . .

    • #10
  11. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    EJHill (View Comment):

    There is never an excuse for sexual misconduct. But I don’t know how you shut it down completely, especially in the business of television, where 90% of the women are very attractive and the ability to read a TelePrompTer is often mistaken for intelligence.

    Add to that there are a lot of very unattractive men with the power to hand out plum assignments and award stupidly lucrative contracts.

    I have difficulty with Megyn. She’s really, really animated by these stories, and generally has a very strong self-righteous streak. But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression. 

    She went after Trump in a despicable way (although he hit it out of the park) by conflating his references to individual women to women in general. Megyn is smarter than that. So obviously she’s got a problem – and I think it’s a problem with men.

    There’s been a game afoot that every attractive female is well aware of. When they act like they haven’t benefited from this is what irks me. The reason they are in front of the camera is because these nerdy execs are attracted to them. Most of them don’t act on their impulses, but some do. Of course they should be called out, but if these women really want to have these practices end they should focus also on both blatant and subtle female complicity. But that would be really unpopular! Ask Camille Paglia.

    • #11
  12. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Franco (View Comment):
    Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression. 

    Megyn wants me.  I can tell . . .

    • #12
  13. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Perhaps Roger Ailes isn’t emblematic of rightwing news afterall. Fox News would be smart to associate complaints of sexism at NBC with Hollywood’s new hit piece.

    • #13
  14. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression. 

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    • #14
  15. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    How? 

    • #15
  16. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    David Foster: NBC is not a stand-alone entity; it is owned by Comcast. Similarly, CNN is owned by AT&T, and ABC is owned by Disney. 

    I’m not sure what the corporate ownership has to do with the subject at hand. ESPN in it’s original configuration (before it became the property of ABC/Cap Cities or Disney) was (to quote the authors of “Those Guys Have All the Fun,” Andrew Miller and Tom Shales) from the beginning a network that was a “a big frat party” and “a giant petri dish in which misconduct could breed and thrive.”

    If anything, the corporate structure has helped put a lid on a lot of it. Shareholders don’t like big payouts to disgruntled ex-employees.

    • #16
  17. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    Ed G. (View Comment):

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    How?

    Attractive women only advance because of their looks? Seriously?

    And I am quite sure you have never been the recipient of a “come hither” look.

     

    • #17
  18. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Ed G. (View Comment):

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    How?

    Attractive women only advance because of their looks? Seriously?

    And I am quite sure you have never been the recipient of a “come hither” look.

     

    No, that particular woman advanced partially because of her looks. Do you ever characterize people’s words correctly? this seems to be a habit of yours. 

    Oh, and nice kicker about no one wanting me enough to give me a come hither look. You continue to distinguish yourself in the annals of Ricochet commenters.

    • #18
  19. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Ed G. (View Comment):

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    How?

    Attractive women only advance because of their looks? Seriously?

    And I am quite sure you have never been the recipient of a “come hither” look.

     

    You’re hallucinating words. I didn’t say that. Traded on looks does not mean she or anyone else advanced only because of their looks.

    Why pray tell me Mr. White Knight, did Fox, almost without exception, seat females where you could see their legs, and these women invariably wore short skirts and high heels? And happened to have well configured gams?If they were made to do so, they should have protested in some way. But they were complicit IMO. 

    Face reality, my non- friend, looks are paramount in show biz. You haven’t noticed? And it’s all show biz.

    The point is that Megyn is playing that game too, and she’s not acknowledging it.

    As to receiving ‘come hither’ looks I have indeed gotten them in my younger days. Unfortunately in those days I had trouble recognizing them. But I did alright in that department anyway. My wife is still gorgeous, and you should see our daughter! That’s how I know about looks. My daughter is also quite smart. She happens to be a model.

    • #19
  20. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression. 

    There’s a term for trading sexual favors for money. I forget what it is exactly. Perhaps someone can remind me.

    • #20
  21. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    And true . . .

    Fox has a business model, and if they want to copy Hooters it’s fine with me . . .

    • #21
  22. arush Inactive
    arush
    @arush

    Much credit to Kelly, happily given. Signed: A democrat who’s deeply concerned about Me Too issues and who’s also sick and tired of watching everybody on both sides go to the wall using any means necessary for accused sexual assaulters on their own side while at the same time finding all kinds of room for benefit of the doubt when the tables turn.

    • #22
  23. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    EJHill (View Comment):
    I’m not sure what the corporate ownership has to do with the subject at hand.

    In the case of CNN, for example, it raises the question of what AT&T senior management thinks about the behavior of CNN, assuming they think about it at all.  

    Is CNN’s extreme political bias a reflection of AT&T corporate policy?…does it represent in effect an in-kind contribution by AT&T to the Democratic Party and the most extreme wing thereof?  And, if so, is this policy motivated by a sincere belief that advocating this flavor of “progressivism” that it is somehow best for the company and its shareholders, or is it purely a reflection of personal executive beliefs about politics (or about what will make them look best among their peers)??

    Or are they following strict corporate decentralization theory (“as long as they make their numbers, we leave them alone”)???…hard to believe in the case of CNN itself, which is scarcely a resounding success, but maybe if you apply it to the results of their next-higher-level parent organization.

    Or is AT&T top management so busy with other things that they have had no time to pay attention to what is going on in this relatively unimportant subsidiary?

    Have they considered the possibility that…as people being to grasp who owns whom…negative reactions to CNN bias will impact the sales of cellular service, landline service, and a whole array of business telecommunications service?  (synergy can be negative as well as positive)

    Or are they planning to spin it off soon, so just don’t care for that reason?

    Same considerations apply to NBC/Comcast…will negative consumer reactions to the abuse-of-women story have an impact of Comcast services sales?

    • #23
  24. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    Stad (View Comment):

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    Franco (View Comment):
    But she traded on her looks her entire career, flashing her legs and wearing heels and sexy dresses. Looking at the camera with a kind of knowing ‘come hither’ expression.

    PC or not, that is sexist.

     

    And true . . .

    Fox has a business model, and if they want to copy Hooters it’s fine with me . . .

    I had a similar bout at a left wing site several years ago when the sexist there attributed it to blondes. A simple look will tell you not even half were blonde. But almost all of the news shows on all networks have younger hosting and reporting staff. And yes, even the men tend to be better looking. But no one would say that Sheppard Smith got where he was by his looks and “looks”.

    Kelly’s path up the ranks follow her performance in ratings. And for reference, these are the viewer demographics comparing Fox and MSNBC.

    Now, if you wish to make a case that Fox viewers don’t care about content but base the news on looks, go for it.

     

     

    • #24
  25. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

     

    Why pray tell me Mr. White Knight, did Fox, almost without exception, seat females where you could see their legs, and these women invariably wore short skirts and high heels? And happened to have well configured gams?If they were made to do so, they should have protested in some way. But they were complicit IMO”

    When Gutfeld’s Red Eye was still on (probably the least PC show on FNC) Greg and Andy frequently referred to the “leg chair” 

     

    • #25
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