Some anchors throw shade at eclipse
Monday’s total solar eclipse captivated the nation and dominated news coverage, but not every anchor was as delighted, or even interested, as their audience.
Megyn Kelly of NBC’s “Today” broached her skepticism of eclipse mania with her fellow panelists, asking, “Is the problem that the eclipse is not actually that exciting and we need to gin it up? I don’t know, I’m not sure.”
Later she advised viewers not to fret if they miss the astronomical event.
“You can see it on the Weather Channel. They’ll, like, tee it up, the ‘Today’ show is going to tee it up for everybody tomorrow. If you miss it today, you’ll see the perfect little thing — you don’t have to waste an hour of your day.”
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When host Savannah Guthrie warned her, half-jokingly, “There is an ejector button for that seat. We are very big on the eclipse here,” Kelly stood her ground.
“I’m just saying. I’m going to watch it, but I’m not feeling what you’re feeling.”
“Look, I’m going to go up to the Top of the Rock — which apparently costs 40 dollars. I’m going to watch it for those four minutes, but…”
Over at Kelly’s former workplace, Fox News, Shepard Smith’s eclipse coverage was far more blatantly apathetic, as one Twitter user pointed out.
Someone at Fox News forced Shepard Smith to come into work & cover #SolarEclipse2017 Let's just say he wasn't thrilled. He gave zero F's pic.twitter.com/GbXUgISA00
— Jessie (@JMKTV) August 21, 2017
Smith appeared to be energized by his disdain for the eclipse, at one point sarcastically teeing up coverage by saying, “This is Total Eclipse of the Sun Watch 2017 on Fox News channel. The excitement must be building and building, like fireworks!”
He was also concerned eclipse chasers might not have known what they were in for, later asking a correspondent in the field, “They know this is all it’s going to be, right? Just a moon over a sun?”
When the partial solar eclipse cast its shadow over New York City, Smith offered an incisive analysis of the changing light: “So here, it’s a little darker than usual, but it’s not, like, dark.”
“According to one legend from ancient China — China,” Smith said, repeating the name of the country in order to imitate President Trump’s pronunciation, “people were scared that a dragon might eat the sun. Which, it’s always something to consider. How was it? Was it everything?”
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