Maria Shriver Quits NBC News

Maria Shriver, on leave as a reporter for NBC since her husband began campaigning for the California governorship, is leaving the network's news division.

Shriver, a "Dateline NBC" reporter, said it became clear to her that as first lady of California, her journalistic integrity would constantly be scrutinized.

"After much soul searching, I have asked to be relieved of my duties at NBC News," Shriver said in a statement issued Tuesday. She said she will continue to work on specials connected to her children's books for other NBC properties.

Shriver took an extended leave from NBC News when husband Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for California governor. When he won, she returned to work, making two appearances as an anchor for "Dateline NBC."

Shriver arrived at her decision after consulting with NBC News President Neal Shapiro and other journalists, said Shapiro's spokeswoman, Allison Gollust. Shapiro did not ask for her resignation, she said.

In fact, in a statement, Shapiro referred to Shriver's status as going "on an extended leave of absence."

"I speak for all of us at NBC News when I say that we look forward to Maria's eventual return," Shapiro said.

There had been published reports last month that NBC News officials were unnerved by accounts that Shriver had played a role in California budget discussions.

Shriver said that following her husband's election, she was aware she was in uncharted territory for a journalist - even as she had balanced her job and celebrity status in the past as a member of the Kennedy family.

"I have no doubt that I could report now and in the future for NBC News with total objectivity, independence and without conflict, as I have for the last 18 years," she said.

Shriver's decision allows NBC News to move ahead without having to deal with any questions surrounding the objectivity of reports in which Shriver was involved, said Aly Colon, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute.

"It would be out of your control," Colon said. "Even if you were in a position where you could be impartial, you would not be able to control the questions in people's minds."

But a former NBC executive said Shriver's marriage should not prevent her from being a reporter. There are few questions about NBC News' foreign affairs correspondent, Andrea Mitchell, who is married to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, said Joseph Angotti, a former senior vice president at NBC News.

A news producer at NBC should be able to find stories for Shriver that would not represent a conflict, said Angotti, chairman of the broadcast department at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Shriver said she hopes to produce a series of specials on her children's books. Her latest, on dealing with Alzheimer's disease, is to be published in May.

NBC owns the cable networks MSNBC and CNBC. Shriver has agreed to give NBC the right of first refusal to these specials, with the option to take them to PBS if NBC doesn't want them.

"I am proud of the work I have done at NBC News, and I look forward to going back there sometime in the future," Shriver said.

By David Bauder