Uproar over Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones interview didn't translate into ratings
HARTFORD, Conn. -- The publicity and uproar in the days before Sunday's broadcast of Megyn Kelly's interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones didn't translate into ratings.
The NBC program was seen by 3.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen, an audience dwarfed by CBS rival "60 Minutes," which drew 5.3 million viewers. "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" had 6.2 million viewers for Kelly's interview of Vladimir Putin on the show's June 4 debut.
In the days preceding her segment on Jones, Kelly had received widespread criticism for giving a platform to a man whose false allegations only added to the pain of the Newtown tragedy and even encouraged people to harass relatives of the victims. In the interview, Jones never gave a direct answer when Kelly pressed him to admit he was wrong and continued to raise questions about the shootings.
Kelly had argued on Twitter that it was her obligation as a journalist to "shine a light" on Jones.
POTUS's been on & praises @RealAlexJones' show. He's giving Infowars a WH press credential. Many don't know him; our job is 2 shine a light. https://t.co/5e88BJyqnz
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 12, 2017
Still, a parent of one of the children killed in the 2012 Connecticut school shootings says she won't view the interview which aired on NBC's "Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly."
Nicole Hockley's 6-year-old son, Dylan, was among the 20 children and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. She said Monday she won't watch the interview for "obvious" reasons; Jones has called the school shooting a hoax.
One Newtown parent did appear on Kelly's program: Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed. When Kelly asked him if he had anything to say to Jones for Father's Day, when the interview aired, he responded, "I think he's blessed to have his children to spend the day with, to speak to. I don't have that."
Connecticut's NBC affiliate did not air Sunday's report and lawyers representing 12 people who lost loved ones at Sandy Hook urged NBC News officials not to air the interview. NBC News Chairman Andy Lack told The Associated Press that the Jones story would be edited with its critics in mind.