Politico On Chelsea: Why Is The Press Treating a Wealthy, 35-Yr-Old Political Operative Like She's Still a White House Kid?

Politico
Feb. 08, 2016

When precisely did Chelsea Clinton complete her transition from a White House kid whom journalists agreed to treat as off-limits to a public figure deserving of the full scrutiny of the press corps?

The unsettling answer to the question appears to be, "Not yet." The soon-to-be 36-year-old occupies the status of an American princess--Diana on the Potomac, if you will. The press covers her, of course, attempting to ask her substantive questions, but mostly she exists to grace the covers of magazines--Fast Company and Elle most recently--and be treated to lighter-than-air puff pieces.

Few object to the cone of deference the press places over the actual children who reside in the White House, or their parents' attempts to construct a privacy zone around them. Even after White House kids are no longer minors and move on to college, as Chelsea did in 1997, most reporters and editors resist covering them as news in themselves. Unless a White House kid breaks the law, takes measures to make their private profile public, or otherwise becomes "newsworthy" (is injured in an accident, is stalked, etc.), the press basically turns a blind eye.

But at some point--early adulthood--the general immunity from critical coverage needs to end. The threshold for newsworthiness recedes, and the children of presidents become more like the siblings, cousins, uncles and parents of presidents. In other words, if one of President Barack Obama's daughters got busted for drunk driving, few would expect saturation coverage from the press. But, say, had Obama's Boston aunt gotten arrested for drunk driving before she died in 2014, there would have been no reason for the press to turn a blind eye. Chelsea Clinton should be treated no more royally than the Nixon daughters, Susan Ford, Amy Carter, the Gore children, or the Bush and Reagan progeny.

The coverage threshold falls lower still if a grown-up White House kid expands her own public profile, as Chelsea Clinton most definitely has. She has maintained a role as adviser and advocate inside the Clinton family's political dynasty since leaving Stanford University. In late 2011, she crossed over to the dark and often invasive art of journalism, working at NBC News as a special correspondent ($600,000/year) until August 2014. Today, Chelsea serves as vice chair of the politically controversial Clinton Foundation, which has raised $2 billion since 2001. She's a board member at Barry Diller's IAC (paid a reported $300,000 a year, plus stock awards). She charges $65,000 per speech. Last fall, she published a book on "empowerment" for kids. She's powerful. She exercises influence. She's all grown up, soon to be the mother of two. If she isn't newsworthy, nobody is.

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