In an interview Wednesday, September 20 on "The Ellen Show," broadcast journalist Megyn Kelly discussed her departure as a prime-time news anchor on Fox News. Kelly stated she had plans to move away from prime time cable news but said that Donald Trump was the final straw.

During the interview, Kelly explains that after reporting on the Supreme Court for some years, she was moved to a prime-time slot, which brought with it a predominance of political news. Her self-exclaimed desire to move away from political coverage was strained even further with the 2016 election cycle when then-candidate Donald Trump took aim at Kelly after she confronted Trump during a Republican Presidential Debate.

Trump vs. Kelly

Following the Fox Republican Presidential Debate, which was moderated by Kelly, Trump posted a series of Tweets criticizing Kelly and her shows.

Trump referred to Kelly as "Crazy Kelly" and encouraged Fox viewers to boycott her show. Although Kelly said on "The Ellen Show" that it was "not just [about] the tweets," she went on to allude to Trump's campaign as a reason why she felt the need to get out of what she referred to as the "snake pit" of cable news.

With politics as divisive and polarizing as it is, Kelly felt the need to leave cable news and try out a new approach to news reporting.

NBC and 'softening' Kelly's personality

Megyn Kelly left Fox News on January 6, 2017, after 12 years of service to the cable news network. She joined NBC and was given a prime-time show: "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly." The show was made as a competitor to "60 Minutes," and her first episode featured an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The interview was received with criticism, most notably from film director Oliver Stone.

With NBC preparing to start a morning show featuring Kelly, the network is promoting the softer side of the normally hard-edged journalist. A promo for Kelly's new show depicts her shaking hands with people. Her new show will be part of the "Today" block of morning news on NBC, a news program often associated with lighter personalities.

Perhaps it is a hard sell to place the former Fox News personality of Kelly alongside and in competition with morning news anchors, it is a transition seemingly in line with Kelly's desires. As she says in the interview on "The Ellen Show," she does not want to focus on politics; she wants to report the news. She cites prime time as the issue with achieving this goal, so the morning time slot might be the perfect place for Kelly.
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