At this point, you probably know that Megyn made the switch from being a lawyer to being a journalist some two decades ago. But on Thursday’s show, she welcomed her old friend and colleague Bill Sammon to The Megyn Kelly Show for the first time and revealed the instrumental role he played in her media career.
While Sammon said Megyn was being “too generous” when she introduced him as “the man responsible for my television career,” Megyn was adamant that a chance encounter with the veteran journalist and political analyst was a key turning point in her professional life.
As Megyn shared, she was working part-time as an attorney and part-time as a reporter for the local ABC news affiliate in Washington, DC, when she scored an invite to the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner. “That’s the dinner depicted in Broadcast News, and I was so excited because I’ve seen Broadcast News a billion times,” Megyn recalled. “I loved news. I loved my budding career. I was over being a lawyer.”
Megyn said she was a bit nervous going into the night because she knew exactly one other person who would be in attendance, but she wore a bright pink dress to “stand out” (as per her hairstylist’s suggestion) and started working the room.
“I met this very tall man named Bill Sammon when we were both getting a drink,” she explained. “I had no idea who he was or what he did, but we started to talk and, at the end of the conversation, he said, ‘Have you gotten your tape to Fox yet?'”
Megyn admitted she had not and also admitted she didn’t really know that much about Fox News, but Sammon gave her his card and told her to call him if she had any interest. “I did call him and he helped get my tape to Kim Hume, who was the DC bureau chief, and then the rest, as they say, is history,” she added.
Sammon said he remembered the night well and was “incredibly impressed” with Megyn’s “wit” and “intelligence.” He said he was only “half serious” when he mentioned her coming to work for Fox News, where he was a contributor at the time, but he very clearly recalled Megyn’s “self-deprecating” answer to his offer.
“I remember your response was something self-deprecating, like ‘I haven’t really covered any national or international stuff,'” he shared. “And I said, ‘Listen, Megyn, cable news is the land of instant expertise. Do you think I knew what I was going to talk about when I went on Brit Hume’s show tonight when I woke up this morning? No, I studied up on it and faked it.'”
Sammon’s reassurance clearly struck a chord. “I got you over there to meet with Kim Hume, and then you took it from there,” he said. “And wow, what a career it’s been.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Sammon by tuning in to episode 835 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.