Megyn Kelly Talks To Mediaite About Jon Stewart, Roger Ailes And Maternity Leave

Mediaite: You received kind of a warm welcome from your old friend, Jon Stewart.

Kelly: Yes, I saw that.

Mediaite: Because he suggested you had different opinions on entitlements and maternity leave. What are your thoughts to what he had to say in his critique of you?

Kelly: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I actually find him funny except when he’s making fun of me. [laughs] But, you know, I think Stewart is funny, and that’s his business, to be funny. It’s not to be fair. And so while it’s never enjoyable to be taken out of context, as he clearly does, I get the joke, and as he always says, he follows a cartoon. That’s his business, to make people laugh. I think the only trouble that there is with Stewart is when they treat his commentary as news. And he’s not in the news business, he’s not committed to presenting the real picture. And I think he would admit that.

But on the substance of it, it got me thinking, because all my remarks were clearly out of context and he was trying to create a narrative. It is not actually inconsistent for somebody to be pro-entitlement reform and pro-strong maternity leave. And Bill Clinton is the best example of that, because he was the one who signed welfare reform into law, and yet also signed the FMLA, which is very controversial and a lot of conservatives didn’t like it. While you may not be somebody who wants a lot of government tentacles in your life, you may also be somebody who thinks that a working woman who has just given birth to a baby shouldn’t have to choose between keeping her job and having her physical recovery and bonding time with her infant child.

On Jon Stewart: “Even though it’s kind of painful to watch those pieces, because everything is so out-of-context, and you’re not going to respond piece by piece, the next day my ratings will go up because I think his viewers say, “Hey, who’s that crazy lady again? Wait, there she is!” “

Mediaite: Do you ever worry that, if Stewart does take your stuff out of context to sell a joke or make a broader point, it ends up mocking you and diminishing your journalistic authority in any way?

Kelly: I don’t think so. I think his audience is smart enough to get the joke, because I know a lot of his audience. I know a lot of people who laugh and say, “I only know you from Jon Stewart because I don’t watch Fox News,” and I’ll ask them what they think, and they get it. They get that he is a comedian. Even though it’s kind of painful to watch those pieces, because everything is so out-of-context, and you’re not going to respond piece by piece, the next day my ratings will go up because I think his viewers say, “Hey, who’s that crazy lady again? Wait, there she is!” And some of them have Nielsen boxes.

I thought it was interesting [Stewart] thought he made a point that I’m only in favor of entitlements that benefit me, but as I pointed out on the air, I have an employer who paid for my leave. I got my salary. The problem in this country is for women who don’t get paid, and that’s who I was advocating on behalf of. There are women who literally squeeze a baby out of their bodies or get cut open in major surgery, have a human being, the next generation of the human race pulled from their bodies, and within a couple of weeks have to go back to work, because if they don’t they can’t pay their bills. Something’s wrong with that.

Mediaite: You’re not a traditional news presenter in that you offer a lot more analysis and insight with varied guests than a traditional news anchor. How do you describe what your show is? Because you’re not just saying “Here are the headlines,” you have an ongoing discussion.

Kelly: It’s a hard news show. And certainly on legal matters, I do give some commentary from time to time, because that’s an area in which I have some expertise. I’ve practiced law for almost ten years. But I do think that in my interview approach, I am very willing to play devil’s advocate, so whether I’m sitting across from a Democrat or a Republican, if it’s a one-on-one interview, I’m going to raise the other side’s points and try to push past the talking points. And some old-school interviewers don’t do that because they think that’s rude, they think you should just ask open-ended questions, let the person say how they feel, and not necessarily challenge them with the other side’s points. To me that’s boring, and I just don’t do those interviews. I don’t think viewers get anything out of them. And I’m pretty vigilant about doing it. Do I do it every single time? No, but I’m pretty good about it, and I think that’s what you’re seeing.

Mediaite: You said that you were unplugged when you were on maternity leave. Did you watch any TV?

Kelly: A little bit. I became a normal news consumer. I think the amount of news we take in, being in this industry, is unrealistic for the average viewer. I mean, we’ve read all the blogs, we’ve read papers, we know what’s in the magazines, we spend hours a day interviewing newsmakers and getting commentary and perspective on it. That’s not real. That’s not what the average American does for news consumption. So when I was on maternity leave, I became an average American in terms of news consumption I watched some TV, I took in some information online, but most of the time, I went about living my day-to-day life. It was actually really refreshing.

When I was on maternity leave, I became an average American in terms of news consumption I watched some TV, I took in some information online, but most of the time, I went about living my day-to-day life. It was actually really refreshing.”

Now that I’m back, I think I have a better perspective on how my viewers are coming to the news. You can’t assume that they are as immersed in these stories as we are, and you can’t assume when you write an intro to a story that you may have been following that they know the background to the story. You’re actually doing them a service if you assume they don’t know about it. And for those who do know it, they’ll forgive you a line or two of repetition on a story they’ve already heard about. For those who don’t know, they’ll be very grateful that you’ve not assumed they’re up to date, and brought them into the loop and then they can hear a meaningful debate.

Mediaite: Right, not everyone is avidly following cable news on Mediaite or whatever site you’re reading.

Kelly: I think it’s to the point of where you would say, “This past weekend, Governor Rick Perry threw his hat into the presidential race. The latest polls show…” I mean, you can’t assume that they know Rick Perry got into the race.

Mediaite: I know you’ve said in the past that you’re primarily a Fox News viewer, and you have copped to turning on Morning Joe and Fox & Friends. But let’s talk about competition. What non-Fox News personalities do you think are doing a great job?

Kelly: The truth is I don’t watch a lot of news, except for when I’m here at the office watching Fox News. I get my news online primarily when I’m not watching the channel. But I’ve said before and I’ll say again that I really admire Diane Sawyer. I think she’s really fair. I think she’s really the model of class and elegance on television. I love her interview styles, she is usually hard-hitting, and I think she’s had a storied career.

There are definitely other people who I think are straight shooters, and whose reporting I really respect and trust, and they’re not all at Fox News. Some are formerly of Fox News, like Major Garrett, who I miss and love. In a professional friendship sense. [laughs] The truth is I don’t sit around and watch our competitors in the primetime hours. I don’t even watch Fox News usually in the primetime hours because I’m home with my kids and that’s more important to me.

You can’t do it all day, every day. You have to have other things in your life going on besides news!

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