Photo: REX USA/Everett Collection.After nearly three years at NBC, Chelsea Clinton announced on Friday, August 29 that she's signing off.
"When I joined the NBC family in 2011," Clinton's Facebook post began, "I had long respected NBC’s commitment to telling the stories of 'ordinary people doing extraordinary things.'" As NBC News' special correspondent, Clinton's “Making a Difference” series focused on those exact stories — often falling in line with her Clinton Foundation charity work. "I am profoundly grateful to NBC viewers who responded to the stories I shared, providing funds to help expand the reach of those programs and who encouraged their schools’ principals, their mayors and local activists to think about how to build similarly transformative programs in their own communities," she explained.
Clinton, a soon-to-be mother, is stepping down from her role to dedicate her time to her philanthropic work at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The Times reports that her departure could also be a sign that her mother will, indeed, run for President in 2016 as Clinton's NBC affiliation was seen as a future conflict if Hillary enters the race.
Though her segments didn't cull a sizable audience, Clinton's absence in the news field makes her the second woman in two months to sign off. Diane Sawyer's last ABC World News report was this past Wednesday, August 27. Here's to hoping both ladies' departures inspire more women to step up to the plate and maintain the female presence in the national news force. (The New York Times)