Megyn Kelly calls independent Tara Reade interview the ‘wave of the future’

Megyn Kelly told The Hill in a new interview that her independent, exclusive sit-down with Tara Reade, who has accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexual assault, represents the “wave of the future.” 

The former NBC News and Fox News host said that the unique strategy, which was executed for Kelly by content distribution company TMX.news, could represent a new approach to conducting independent journalism and distributing content, calling it “a freelance for everyone.”

“In some ways, it’s the wave of the future, because you don’t need a network to deliver great content anymore,” she explained. “And some of these early folks on the internet and YouTube have figured that out.”

“I would say that we haven’t seen that many well-known journalists going this route but it’s almost like being a freelance for everyone, right? It’s a way of getting mass distribution on your journalism and it’s also a way of getting what I still consider fair and balanced journalism on all the channels,” Kelly continued.

“If you want to see this big interview; here it is, and I’m going to do it fairly and I’m not going to be in the tank for her, and I’m not going to be in the tank for him, and it’s really hard to ignore an interview of this magnitude. So it’s kind of a fun way of getting product and mass distribution,” she added.

Kelly’s interview with Reade was picked up in 375 local U.S. news television markets and aired in 13 countries. It was shown by major outlets reaching a combined tens of millions of viewers including “NBC Nightly News,” “CBS This Morning,” NBC’s “Today” show and Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” and “The Five,” as well as international outlets including BBC News in the U.K. and CNBC’s “Asia Squawk Box.”

The interview was also covered in top publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Associated Press and The Guardian in the U.K., according to TMX.news.

The sit-down with Reade, who has accused Biden of sexual assault during an alleged encounter in 1993 while she worked for him as a Senate staffer, is particularly noteworthy since Kelly doesn’t work for any news organization and secured the coveted interview on her own. It was filmed sometime last week at an undisclosed location.

Kelly also shared with The Hill Reade’s prerequisites in agreeing to the interview.

“She said she wanted someone who is nonpartisan. Who would ask her tough questions, but who was trauma-informed,” Kelly says. “I think she was just on her heels about some other interviews she has had, on the way people approach discussing sexual assault, and she wants to make sure she’s talking to someone who understood the issues that go along with it.”

The former Fox News prime-time host was instrumental in the ouster of then-Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes after the network brought in an outside firm to investigate sexual harassment allegations against him in 2016. Ailes left the network three weeks after the investigation began, with Kelly’s allegation of being sexually harassed by him being seen as a key part of the inquiry.

“I told [Reade] up front; I may have been involved in the Me Too movement, but I’m a lawyer at heart. So I am going to ask you all the hard questions,” Kelly said. “She said, ‘That’s one of the reasons I want you.’ “

Kelly last appeared on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” in October 2018. When asked by The Hill if she would return to media full-time, Kelly said there are some choices on the table.

“All I’ll say is, I’m considering many options but I will tell you this: I will not be working for any corporate overlords again.”

–This report was updated at 11:33 a.m.