Today, Chelsea Clinton Became a Journalist
The hiring of Chelsea Clinton by NBC News was greeted with skepticism by some in the news business on Monday.
Chelsea Clinton Hired by NBC NewsThe appointment is immediate. Ms. Clinton will show up at the news division offices on Monday morning, said Steve Capus, president of NBC...- Journalists have tried and failed for years to interview the famously press-shy Ms. Clinton. And it was no different on Monday, as several journalists pointed out on Twitter:
Will Chelsea talk to media now that she IS the media? Disdained reporters in '08. Chelsea Clinton Hired by NBC News: nyti.ms/tP8nn9
The supreme irony of Chelsea Clinton becoming an NBC reporter: I'm pretty sure she's never granted an interview. nyti.ms/uWs82Q- Ms. Clinton's only comment came in the form of a statement distributed by NBC. In it, she said, "People who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and in our world have always inspired me. I hope telling stories through 'Making a Difference' – as in my academic work and non-profit work – will help me to live my grandmother’s adage of 'Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you.' "
- Does it matter that Ms. Clinton declined to comment on the day that she starts a job at a news organization? Erik Wemple, a media blogger for The Washington Post, argued that it does. "If you’re going to interview other people, it might be helpful to have spent a moment or two on the other side of the mike," he wrote Monday afternoon.
Chelsea Clinton hiring: No interviewsToday should be a happy day for NBC. According to the New York Times, it just signed up a big name to do some fluff reporting. Chelsea Cl...- While some discussed her reticence to comment, others homed in on NBC's decision to hire yet another famous family member, with some calling it "nepotism."
your meritocracy: Chelsea Clinton joining Luke Russert and Jenna Bush on NBC News/MSNBC payroll gawker.com/5859215
America’s meritocratic, watchdog news mediaNew York Times, July 31, 2008: Business Insider, August 31, 2009: I really don't understand what those angry, lazy losers in the Occupy m...- Eric Deggans, the television critic for The St. Petersburg Times, had already labeled NBC the "Nepotism Broadcasting Company" for having Kathie Lee Gifford's son Cody review movies on "Today" and for having the late Tim Russert's son, Luke, report on politics for the news division.
On Monday Mr. Deggans wrote: "Few doubt that Clinton seems a poised intelligent young woman, especially after growing up in the maelstrom of the Clinton's tumultuous presidency. But I always think it sends an odd message to have high-profile correspondent jobs go to people with little or on TV reporting experience."Meanwhile, James Poniewozik of Time magazine made a case for nepotism, writing, "All other things being equal, fame—earned or inherited, deserved or not—quite simply is often an asset for an interviewer. People will sometimes talk to a famous person on camera because they recognize them and there’s an element of comfort."
Ms. Clinton's name was trending on Twitter for much of the day. Some of the sentiments were supportive of her and her new position...
#ChelseaClinton OK by me. Smart girl. MT @columbiajourn Presidential daughters hired as correspondents by NBC News t.co/jWGUUAJP- ...While many other comments were highly critical of NBC:
@brianstelter When ex-presidents'/ex-presidential candidates' kids are hired in high-profile media jobs, talented "nobodies" have no chance.
Chelsea Clinton, Jenna Bush, Luke Russert. NBC News is HQ for affirmative action for children of the well-connected. goo.gl/gSngD
