Categories: Politics

You Blew It! If Megyn Kelly and Fox News Want to Be Taken Seriously…

In this March 6, 2012 photo provided by Fox News, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly is seated at the anchor desk at the Fox studios in New York. Starting Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, in Tampa, Fla., she'll be in Fox's booth as co-anchor with Bret Baier for the 2012 meetings. (AP Photo/Fox News, Alex Kroke)

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s announced refusal to show up at the next in a never-ending series of televised debates raises a fundamental issue with Fox News. Is Fox News, which is airing the Jan. 28 debate and providing the moderators, serious about reporting the news and addressing the key issues of the day, or is the network just in the entertainment and celebrity business?

Can you really take Megyn Kelly seriously when she gets all gussied up every evening like its prom night? When I appear as a commentator on TV, which I do occasionally as a free-market economist and an investment newsletter editor, I might spend five minutes in the dressing room. But Kelly seems to spend hours in the make-up room before she goes on, applying slick lipstick and styling her ever-changing blond hair.

I do not intend to single out just Megyn Kelly, since Fox News is famous for the bimbo image of several of its anchorwomen, who typically wear short shirts, fake hairdos and tight outfits. Fox & Friends in the morning is a perfect example of such an over-the-top emphasis on glamour. I don’t doubt that Kelly and other anchorwomen on Fox News are educated, knowledgeable and intelligent, but their emphasis on image seems so excessive that it’s understandable if many viewers see them as babes rather than brains.

And the anchormen like Bill O’Reilly could be considered just as shameless, not for dressing up in tuxedos or custom-made suits, but for bringing “knock-out” women on their shows under the pretense of having them comment on a news item. Are those the best commentators available or just the ones who are so attractive that they can bring heightened ratings to shows anchored by Bill O’Reilly and others?

With the women on Fox News dressed like they are going out to a cocktail party, no wonder they are not taken seriously by certain people.

There’s at least one high-profile exception on Fox News to the bimbo image: anchorwoman Greta Van Susteren. She’s no bombshell and she does not have an especially attractive voice. But she’s a class act, dresses conservatively and asks tough questions. Fox News would do well to invite her to host the next Fox News debate.

Mark Skousen

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen Home Run Trader, and Skousen Fast Money Alert. He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title. His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007). In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.” Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York. For more information about Mark’s services, go to http://www.markskousen.com/