‘Total Panic’ Over Megyn Kelly’s ‘Today’ Show Reportedly at NBC

Just a few weeks before “Megyn Kelly Today” becomes the new third hour of NBC’s “Today,” some NBC insiders are reportedly very worried about its prospects and whether Kelly will prove worthy of the $17 million NBC is reportedly investing in her each year.

The Daily Beast has the scoop about what's gnawing at the minds of at least some in the inner circles at NBC:

[A]ccording to network insiders, her new role is prompting “questions internally about who her audience is exactly” as well as a sense of “total panic” concerning the intense media scrutiny that will unavoidably attend the launch of Megyn Kelly Today, to say nothing of the need to publicly vindicate NBC News Chairman Andy Lack’s $17 million gamble (reportedly her eye-popping annual compensation) when he wooed her away from Fox.

It was not a good omen for Kelly’s daytime prospects when Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly posted disappointing numbers, was reportedly pulled from its limited summer run July 30 two episodes short of the expected 10, and attracted unwelcome controversy with the Alex Jones segment, notably protests from the relatives of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims (including 20 young children killed in a mass shooting that Jones had called a hoax).

“The Sunday show laid such an egg that any claims that she had automatic star power, to get people in the door to see what she was doing, have been disavowed,” television news analyst Andrew Tyndall told The Daily Beast. “The stardom of the celebrity anchor was a phenomenon of the 1980s back when [flamboyant ABC News president] Roone Arledge was around. In this day and age, the shows make the anchors, not the other way around.”

As The Daily Beast also pointed out, just because her Sunday show was a flop does not necessarily mean that her Today show will likewise falter.

But you can certainly understand why there might be some sweats breaking out at NBC.

My own opinion is that Kelly's brash, “Megyn Moments” that appealed to old white men watching Fox News will not go over so well with the ethnically diverse women in the Today audience. And let’s face it, Kelly did a fabulous job of playing a racist on TV during her Fox gig.

Just watch her attack African American Rep. Al Green (D-TX) below, in a December 2, 2014 clip from The Kelly File, as he tried to politely discuss the Congressional Black Caucus’ “hands up” protests after a Ferguson, Missouri grand jury decided not to charge white police officer Darren Wilson over the shooting death of unarmed black teen, Michael Brown. Then ask yourself, is this a person who's a good fit to host a morning show?

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Showing 10 reactions

commented 2017-09-06 04:32:47 -0400 · Flag

The Foxies are tainted goods. No news network, in the right mind, should hire anyone from this demonic network.

commented 2017-09-05 18:10:16 -0400 · Flag

Newsflash to those execs at NBC. If any of the cable news on-air talent was ready for a major network, they’d already be working at a major network. Megan Kelly isn’t that good and isn’t that interesting. She can’t interview, which is why she read from a teleprompter, mostly. And isn’t knowing “who a talent’s audience is”, a question that should be known through research and analysis before offering up a 17 million dollar contract that can potentially lose multiples of that in lost ad revenue when she fails? You didn’t do your homework.

Ain’t only Megan Kelly that will be short-lived there. The execs should go before she does. There’s dumb and then there’s dumb. Jeez.

commented 2017-09-02 18:28:41 -0400 · Flag

Look what Faux did. Yeah, they made an offer and Kelly didn’t take it, thinking she would become the next Walters or Sawyer. And Faux brought in a 25 yr. old blonde who won’t be mentioning her pro-choice views on that network. And Kelly is bombing, big time. No one from the Faux audience is watching her, she is a traitor to those poor souls. And no liberal has any use for her. A lot of channels will be clicking over to Kelly Ripa at 9:00 a.m.

commented 2017-09-02 16:17:22 -0400 · Flag

The old white geezers who used to salivate over Megyn in a mini-skirt will stay with Fux Noise and salivate over another younger, blond bimbo in a mini-skirt.

Megyn’s tired shtick of tossing softball questions to right-wingers and shouting over liberals won’t play well on a real news network. Andy Lack will be unemployed within a year.

commented 2017-09-02 15:55:17 -0400 · Flag

I’m enjoying watching Megyn fail. I have so sympathy for anyone who whored herself at FOX for so many years and then tries to be “mainstream”. You made you bed Megyn, now lie in it.

commented 2017-09-02 15:42:15 -0400 · Flag

Everything is about ratings in TV. They wanted to be competative with FOX and they have accomplished that by getting her on NBC. MSNBC ’s ratings are up now.

commented 2017-09-02 11:18:29 -0400 · Flag

She is simply not likable- no warmth at all. What was NBC thinking?

commented 2017-09-02 09:41:41 -0400 · Flag

It just goes to show the bosses at NBC really didn’t have any idea what Kelly was about when they signed her. Everyone here knew she would fail at NBC, or whatever network signed her. Trump is right about the media in some cases, they do make up stories to fit an agenda. In this case, all the coverage Kelly received from magazines about being a great journalist were simply not true and made up, with nobody to challenge it. Bill Maher was the only media person to call out the phony praise Kelly was getting from her clash with Trump.

commented 2017-09-02 09:34:59 -0400 · Flag

Totally agree. Fox can mold a person to do what they want. Ms. Kelly is not missed at Fox. They had plenty of replacements ready. Diehard right wing politics isn’t likely to fly at 9 in the morning. There is a reason why Regis & Kathi Lee were popular.

commented 2017-09-02 06:54:14 -0400 · Flag

Fox News is a formula. Pick up the meme or memes of the day, typically from the “Fox & Friends” daily propaganda kick-off, then just beat the conservative talking points to death. Some obviously believe Kelly was a special talent who rose above this so she got to do election night and be a debate moderator. However, she’s finding the big league of network TV is a different animal.

Her Sunday failure proves she’s no major league interviewer like Mike Wallace. Scratch that.

For a daily morning show I’d recommend, as much as possible, she dump politics and stick to general interest topics. Emphasize her lighter side. Her political views, when brought up, need to mainstream.

She’s not just appealing to angry, partisan political junkies any longer.