Chelsea Clinton Quits NBC News

First Daughter says she's leaving for charity work, family
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2014 4:45 PM CDT
Chelsea Clinton Quits NBC News
This June 23, 2014, file photo shows Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton as she speaks at the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science, in Denver.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Chelsea Clinton is ditching her high-paid gig as a special correspondent for NBC News, People reports. The First Daughter says she'll continue her charity work with the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation as she and husband Marc Mezvinsky expect their first child. Clinton's upbeat NBC segments didn't draw huge audiences, the New York Times reports, but gave communities and nonprofits a lot of attention: "It’s hard to get stories like this told on a platform as big as NBC Nightly News," says the head of Share Our Strength, which helps feed needy children.

Another example: The nonprofit TOPPS (which provides meals, mentoring, and tutoring for young people, notes Huffington Post) pulled in $300,000 after Clinton's segment on NBC, according to the network. Only rough patch for Clinton: Her "eye-popping" $600,000 salary, the Daily News reports, which Politico says earned her $26,724 for each minute of airtime (Chelsea dialed down her salary to a monthly paycheck "that allowed her to exit," the Times says). Critics also questioned whether her position was becoming a conflict of interest, as Hillary went on a book tour that some considered a de facto presidential-campaign launch. (More Chelsea Clinton stories.)

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