Fair game Quote by Megyn Kelly
““This is an egregious breach of journalistic ethics. It’s absolutely inappropriate, whether they consider themselves “journalists” or not. You don’t “act” the part of an independent, objective host and secretly rehearse your exchanges with a candidate. Ever. If neither gifts nor praise worked, Trump would use insults or threats. Commentators like Charles Krauthammer, Brit Hume, George Will, Jonah Goldberg, Dana Perino, Rich Lowry, Steve Hayes, Marc Thiessen, and Chris Stirewalt were derided as “dummies” or “losers” or “lightweights” or “failures” for offering their honest, albeit unflattering, analysis of Trump. Anyone who didn’t fall under the Trump spell was fair game. Plenty of straight news reporters were hit too. The Des Moines Register’s journalists were banned from Trump’s campaign events because the paper’s editorial board had harshly criticized him. The Washington Post was later banned for similar reasons. So were Univision, the Daily Beast, and others. The message was clear: cover Trump “nicely,” and good things happen. Hit him too hard, and suffer the consequences. He’d been laying the groundwork for that basic strategy for months before he launched his campaign. In””
About This Quote
Source Interview: Megyn Kelly on Media Ethics, 2018
The speaker condemns deceptive journalistic practices, emphasizing that rehearsed or biased interviewing undermines independence and invites retaliation.
In simple terms: Journalists must stay independent and honest, or face consequences.
Maintain journalistic integrity and resist manipulation.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- newsrooms
- political campaigns
- media watchdog groups
- journalist training
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What safeguards protect journalistic independence?
- How can media balance critique and fairness?
The perspective may be influenced by personal conflict, limiting objectivity.