It’s the Monday after an otherwise quiet holiday week. Your in-laws are gone, your co-workers clad in formless sweaters and jumpers to hide the turkey and then there’s the question of how to shed these newfound pounds? Why not spend your time fretting over what Chelsea Clinton and NBC News may or may not have done over this election year?
Buzzfeed has the exclusive that NBC News put the kibosh on a planned series of ads featuring Chelsea Clinton, who is a special correspondent with the bureau, lending her voice and possibly likeness to a marriage-equality campaign during the election. The ads, focusing on legislation in Washington state, were questionable but seemed to be online only:
Three people who saw the videos confirmed their existence to BuzzFeed. They were fully prepared, with the script approved in advance, one source said. The video wasn’t intended for TV broadcast, a second source said, suggesting they were instead to be used as web-based videos. The source added that multiple efforts had been intended beneficiaries of the former First Daughter’s support.
So what exactly did these ads seem to say that caused NBC to backtrack? Well, technically Clinton is an employee of the news division and can’t be shown endorsing any specific measure up for the election. Even if she is a “special correspondent,” she’s still under the peacock’s shadow. But does this actually matter? Not especially. It’s the news equivalent of getting a yogurt with your Peppermint Mocha as a “healthy” reward after so little has happened last week.
But give it a day or two! There’ll be more important things to discuss rather than what seems like an attempt by TheFour.com to get their name on Google Trends. Instead, The National Christmas Tree was spotted on a flatbed truck near the Capitol this morning! And as the weeks lead up to the inauguration, the comings and goings of the administration are sure to be the real news instead of a web-only video that someone in corporate deemed too risque.