FNC Sizes Up Megyn Kelly’s Future

By Alex Weprin 

The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz writes about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. There is some familiar territory, but Kurtz adds a little nugget that there might be even brighter things in the anchor’s future:

Kelly has emerged as a breakout star at Fox after a campaign in which she helped moderate a number of high-profile presidential debates. And that has created a bit of a dilemma for the network, as her contract is up next summer.

She is clearly too big a talent to remain marooned at 1 p.m. and would like a more prominent time slot. But with Fox having stuck for years with a winning prime-time lineup of Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Greta Van Susteren, it is not clear where Kelly would land.

Advertisement

Fox News Channel’s primetime lineup of Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren all signed new extensions recently. Van Susteren, who signed an extension in July 2010, is the first one whose contract expires, though it isn’t immediately clear when, or if 10 PM would even be in play. Van Susteren has helped FNC hold a strong ratings lead on the cable news pack in that hour.

Kelly received praise for her handling of Karl Rove last Tuesday during election coverage, including from outlets not normally prone to be kind to FNC, like The New Republic.

Advertisement