NBC poised to re-sign special correspondent Chelsea Clinton despite her 'monochromatic' and 'boring' reports
By Rachel Quigley and Beth Stebner
18th February 2012
dailymail.co.uk
Despite being billed as one of the most ‘boring people of her era,’ with television performances slammed as monochromatic and lacking charisma, Chelsea Clinton won’t be going off the air anytime soon.
A source from NBC told the New York Post that Miss Clinton’s relationship with the news network won’t end when her 90-contract expires.
The Post speculates that Miss Clinton, who was brought on as a special correspondent last December, will continue to report and produce segments to air on Rock Centre With Brian Williams.
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Chelsey lately: NBC is poised to renew Chelsea Clinton's contract, despite tepid reviews of her performance, reports say
NBC declined comment to the Post, and a rep for Miss Clinton did not immediately return a call.
Miss Clinton’s original contract with the network was only for 90 days, and is set to expire in a few weeks.
Since her tepid debut last December, a handful of specials reported by Miss Clinton have aired on NBC. The first was a feature piece on an after school program in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
The latest, which aired last Wednesday, covered a charter school in Rhode Island, and highlighted the success of unconventional teaching methods.
Another piece from January 30 details the story of a veteran prisoner of war who provides soldiers with therapy dogs.
The segments are part of the network’s ‘Making a Difference’ series, but many were received with less alacrity than Miss Clinton might have hoped.
In her latest segment, Miss Clinton, 31, examined the nuanced way of teaching children at charter schools and highlighted how a ‘collaboration’ between the Rhode Island charter school with a nearby public school created more well-rounded students.
The television critic for the Baltimore Sun ranted that NBC News should know better than to continue this ‘silly crap’ of Miss Clinton’s ‘simplistic feel-good, this-is-a-place-of-“hope” report’ in a particularly scathing review.
He questioned the qualification of Miss Clinton to report and comment on the reading levels of the children she interviewed, and the apparent lack of research that went into the feature piece.
When Miss Clinton’s first segment aired last December, some critics said the only child of former President Bill Clinton was ‘set up for a fall,’ merely used as a ratings grabber so that the network could announce her deal to become a full-time special correspondent to great fanfare.
Critics slammed her December 12 debut as wooden, nervous, and boring.
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