Bill Carter of The New York Times writes this morning that Chelsea Clinton will be joining NBC News, effective immediately, as a full-time correspondent reporting feel-good features. (The offer sounds not entirely unlike the one that Jenna Hager, President George W. Bush’s daughter, received from NBC’s Today show in 2009.)
Cue predictable conservative whining about the liberal mainstream media. But another group that might be disgruntled by the news is aspiring journalists not related to an ex-president looking for a break. Here’s how NBC News President Steve Capus describes the talks that led to Clinton’s hiring:
Mr. Capus said an intermediary contacted him in July with word that “she was kicking around what she wanted to do next.”
Mr. Capus said he had met with Ms. Clinton and had a long conversation that began with a simple question. “I asked her: ‘What are you interested in doing?’ ”
The Times relied on Capus’s account because Clinton, who has long been famously (and justifiably, given how she was treated during her teen years) media-shy, “was not available for comment,” though she did issue a brief statement. Presumably, she’ll be more ready to field questions once she starts asking them for a living.
Greg Marx is an associate editor at CJR. Follow him on Twitter @gregamarx.