If you’re a fan of morning news you’re probably familiar with journalist Tamron Hall’s abrupt departure from NBC’s Today Show, as well as the NBC and MSNBC networks earlier this year. The journalist made the decision to end her contract after the show decided to replace the third hour with a show starring controversial, former Fox News anchor, Megyn Kelly.
Hall joined the Today Show in 2014, and for the past several years hosted the third hour of the show, Today’s Take, with co-anchors Al Roker, Willie Geist, meteorologist Dylan Dreyer and occasional celebrity guests. The third hour of morning news featured the hosts updating audiences on everything from hard news to engaging in entertaining banter about the latest celebrity gossip. It was no 20/20, but it was refreshing, light and the anchors seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
The rest of the week wasn’t much better. Deadline reports compared to same day/same timeslot last year, Kelly was down 4% in overall audience, down 11% in the news demo and own 15% in female news-demo viewers who, for the most part, are the show’s target crowd. You could say Kelly is the victim of disgruntled Tamron Hall fans who feel like the replacement was an attack on diversity and representation for African-American journalists and female journalists that the show seemed to achieve a nice balance of. But the truth is, Kelly isn’t exactly helping herself. The show was filled with several awkward moments as critics were reminded exactly why Kelly may not be the best fit when it comes to likability.