First, I’d like to make it clear that I’d love to have Chelsea Clinton as a client. She’s a bright and personable young woman who may have some important stories to tell. However, her debut story on the Dec. 12 edition of NBC Nightly News showed why it’s a bad idea to have your entry level job in TV News on a national broadcast news program. (Watch the video, below.)

The best journalists are driven by their passion to tell a story, and it shows. Think back to when you were a kid and it was “show-and-tell” day at school. You brought the coolest thing and couldn’t wait to share with the class. An effective on-camera performance by a journalist will contain an element of genuine interest and excitement. By contrast, Ms. Clinton’s performance had all the passion you’d expect from someone who has spent her entire life being sheltered from the news media or choosing, as an adult, to avoid it.  It was flat and dull, reflecting only the entitlement of someone who got in the door by lucky accident of having famous parents.

Clinton got the appearance part of it right: simple, solid-color dress, hair nicely framing the face and understated makeup. But, at the network level, you get professional help with those things. She should have gotten more help from the producer of her story on an Arkansas woman who has spent her life savings to help needy kids. It included plenty of cutaways of Chelsea the priveleged princess visiting the less fortunate, smiling down on the kids who were watching a demonstration of how to make cornbread. If she made any attempt to get to know these kids or give one of them a warm hug, we didn’t see it. I’m sure it’s a worthy cause, but the story didn’t do much to educate the audience about why these particular needy kids deserve anybody’s attention or support.  Clinton mumbled the woman’s name and NBC didn’t bother to put it up on a lower-third  graphic. They did, however, put up Chelsea Clinton’s name. Twice.

There was little attempt to define this story with crisis, conflict and resolution. There was an interesting mention of a young man who came to rely on the program after his mother died, but he was mentioned only in passing. It was left to Brian Williams to get Clinton to mention that the program has received federal funds. So where is the money? And why hasn’t this program done a better job of lining up community support? If this is the best way Clinton can think of to show how people are making a difference, we’re in for a lot of boring stories. You could argue that this was just a feature story, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to leave out the basic who, what, when where and why. I couldn’t disagree more with one reviewer on TV Newser  who said her voice had a “built-in broadcast quality.” She needs coaching to  interpret the script she is reading with energy, vocal variety and variations in speed and pitch. You can even see her eyeballs shifting as she reads the prompter. She should be able to take us into the story with a standup that places in context the important things about the situation that may not be obvious in the video. Just as it takes more than putting on a white coat to be a doctor, it takes more than putting on a nice dress and makeup to deliver a power performance in journalism.

I wish Chelsea Clinton and NBC the best of luck.  I see in her NBC debut the kind of potential I often see when journalism students or graduate students deliver a report on camera for the first time. Famous parents will get you in the door, but in order to stay in the room you need to show some aptitude and passion for the work. Maria Shriver and Chris Cuomo have shown that it can be done. It remains to be seen if Clinton will establish herself as a trusted source of information, or just a highly visible flash in the pan.

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