Critics are calling former Fox News host, Megyn Kelly s upcoming interview with the conspiracy theorist and noted lunatic, Alex Jones on her new home at NBC an act of irresponsibility to the public. Or, as the panel of media critics on CNN s Reliable Sources put it, Jones is a virus and Kelly is giving him the opportunity to create a viral outbreak of bullshit political positions. Maureen Ryan, Variety s chief television critic, argued that the context of the interview was a major factor in determining the quality of the programming. She asserts that Jones is certainly worth educating people about but feels the format is all wrong. Ryan explains: I just think the context in which this coverage takes place is really important. If you were telling me that NBC was doing an hour-long documentary on the rise of this kind of disinformation media empires, I would say that s great. This is important to take into consideration, both as a media critique and as a talking point to those who wish to decry the media s admonishment of Kelly and NBC as simply being part of a conspiracy to shut out so-called  truth-tellers  like Jones.  A talking point that is both in vogue with the alt-right and quite lazy, if I am being honest.   I don t think giving Alex Jones 15 or 16 minutes to simply spin his views and to spin his media image is the way in which to attack this,  Ryan went on to add.  Megyn Kelly has not proven herself to be the kind of dogged interviewer that would be able to make a meal of this. Kelly s entire career could be used as a citation for this claim, though Kelly s recent pathetic interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin does a great job of summarizing her consistent failings as a news celebrity (I m incapable of referring to her as a journalist at this point). The show s host, Brian Stelter, mentions one defense of NBC s airing of the interview that came from NBC. The defense, according to Stelter, is that:  terrorists and child molesters and serial killers have been interviewed on television. It s actually quite sad to hear such vapid analysis from a major broadcasting company like NBC, if not surprising. Obviously, there is a defense between the likes of Jones and the rest of the scary cadre of deplorable individuals that are mentioned, those types of people are almost always automatically viewed as illegitimate by audiences. It s hard to imagine Jones on the other hand, as stacking up to these types of criminals. As nutty as Jones is, he sounds sane, if not by much from a left-wing perspective, when compared to a terrorist spokesperson. Stelter goes on to speculate on whether the current political climate is playing a part in people s anger towards Kelly and NBC.: Alex Jones is a virus. There s maybe a fear of spreading that virus more fully on a big network. If it bleeds it ledes,  goes the journalist cliche. While an interview with Jones likely won t lead to blood spilling, it will get people to tune in to view the verbal carnage. This interview is going to be very profitable to NBC. It should be remembered by all, that NBC is a corporation and their obligations are to turn a profit, which even in dark times we are in still appears to trump their obligations as a member of the fourth estate.You can watch the segment below.Featured image from video screenshot