The former Fox and NBC journalist discussed the state of American journalism and politics at an event with the Buckley Institute this past Wednesday.
Raleigh Adams
Associate Editor of Campus Life & Administration, The Buckley Beacon
This past Wednesday, Megyn Kelly, former Fox and NBC news anchor and current host of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM, spoke at an event with the Buckley Institute at Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall.
Kelly’s speech came just several weeks after a Buckley event was vandalized by student protesters in Yale’s William H. Harkness Hall. The event’s posters, advertising a firing line debate on the topic of biological sex and its legal recognition, were ripped and crumpled, with protesters also putting up posters advertising a fake Buckley event for “student genital inspection.”
In an email to The Buckley Beacon, Buckley Institute president William Barbee (YC ‘26) noted that “the combination of a fiery conversation and our largest audience of the semester” made the event “a memorable addition to the Buckley calendar.” The topic of Barbee’s discussion with Kelly was the transformation of the American media landscape — of, in Kelly’s words, the “leaning in” on the part of left-wing media into “fake news.”
When asked what the new media revolution is, and what shape she sees it taking and continuing to take, Kelly called the movement the “child of the adage ‘necessity is the mother of all invention.’” Kelly commented that, outside of Fox, the only other source of television news for those to the right of center was NewsMax, a handful of radio hosts and no digital media. She credits Ben Shapiro, a Buckley speaker series guest in October 2024, as “the one who created a real lane” in digital media and podcasting spaces.
After her time at NBC, Kelly noted that it was Shapiro who encouraged her to enter the podcast space and further develop the avenue. “Young people do not sit in front of cable news hour after hour,” Kelly added, emphasizing how independent news journalists are flocking to podcasts and online to be indicative of the future of news media.
“The future is going to be digital. It is going to be a direct relationship between you and a trusted few who you believe will tell you the truth. And you’ll know what their political bias is to factor into what they’re telling you.”
Kelly furthered, this will be “such a more useful, truthful, honest way of getting your news. You will be far less bent.”
Kelly’s remarks culminated with a pronouncement on the future of conservatism in America and the Republican party. When asked if conservatives are to stay in the age of MAGA or that there might be a revival of the old right, Kelly noted that “stock is falling… it’s Trump’s Republican party.”
During the Q&A period of Kelly’s remarks, one audience member asked how young creatives can be effective as left-wing dominated media falls.
Kelly responded that the answer “for sure isn’t Disney,” and commented on the fire the media giant has been under since their remake of Snow White. “They need to really feel the pain before they start listening to us,” Kelly summarized, “and then we eventually will bring them to heel.” As alternatives to mainstream work and studios, Kelly recommended Mark Joseph’s Reagan and the burgeoning work of Angel Studios as hope for the conservative arts. She advised the young person that “there is no studio devoted to this,” and that so many “right wing money guys” will want to invest in a studio to create media for the half the country that has been now left underserved.
In his email to The Beacon, Barbee offered praise for Kelly’s experience and her current show’s success in alternative media.
“Ms. Kelly has had one of the most remarkable careers in journalism and one that is incredibly poignant for our own time.” Barbee furthered, “whereas most figures of the legacy media have failed to break into the world of podcasts, YouTube, and social media, Megyn Kelly has knocked it out of the park with ratings that speak for themselves.”
The Buckley Institute will be hosting its annual Disinvitation Dinner on May 8 in New York City. The event will feature former Vice President Mike Pence as keynote speaker.