TV broadcaster Megyn Kelly went live this week as she hosted her highly anticipated show “Megyn Kelly Today.”
Kelly, the former Fox News anchor, has now made the transition from hard-hitting evening news to the world of light-hearted morning entertainment.
Leaving her audience with the question, “Was Megyn Kelly the right choice for “Today”?
Too political
At the start of her first show Kelly said, “The truth is, I am kinda done with politics for now.”
Whether Kelly means to be political or not, the truth of the matter is that she will always be associated with her political ties to Fox.
It is nearly impossible to not be political in 2017 and for Kelly, this means her more liberal audience is never going to forget where she came from.
She is and will forever be the conservative anchor from Fox.
Lack of experience with morning television
Kelly has worked in television for the past 12 years, but she has not once hosted a morning show.
Kelly has proved herself in the art of evening news but has zero experience in the field of morning television.
While she is a master behind a desk and teleprompter, she’s struggled to make this transition, and it shows.
In the weeks leading up to the premiere of “Megyn Kelly Today,” Kelly appeared in other segments of “Today,” cohosting with “Today” veteran Hoda Kotb.
Kelly foiled Kotb in a way that left the audience feeling awkward and uncomfortable; she came across as stiff and overly serious while Kotb was her usual smooth and light-hearted self.
Fails to connect with audience
Kelly started her very first show with a short autobiography full of personal experiences so she could reintroduce herself to her new audience.
Her introduction went from sweet to sour very quickly when she made a plug for her book alongside the story of her father’s sudden death.
A moment that was meant to be sincere came across rough and insensitive and ultimately put a wall up between Kelly and her audience.
“When you bring in a new personality from another network, particularly one that can be considered quite partisan, it’s important that personality be able to immediately connect with the audience,” said Chris Noland, communication professor at the College of Charleston.
While Kelly tried her best to make a connection with her audience, she failed to do so, only proving that she has not changed since her time at Fox.
Doesn’t interview guests well
Kelly has only completed a handful of shows and has already left a bad taste in the mouths of her guests, two being Debra Messing and Jane Fonda.
After Messing’s appearance on “Megyn Kelly Today,” she posted on instagramsaying, “regret going on.”
This post is in reference to the overbearing questions Kelly was asking the cast and an audience member.
Like Messing, Jane Fonda was very displeased with her time on the show.
During Fonda’s interview Kelly went off course and asked Fonda about her plastic surgeries, which caught Fonda off guard.
Fonda quickly responded to Kelly’s inappropriate question by remarking, “we really want to talk about that right now?”
There was a long pause after this exchange and an unavoidable wave of awkwardness filled the set.
In only a few short days, Kelly has not only failed to connect with her audience but also her guests—just another reason why the former Fox anchor was the wrong choice for “Today.”
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