Kids Voice Top Ten Concerns About Television to Linda Ellerbee and Nick News

Kids Voice Top Ten Concerns About Television to Linda Ellerbee and Nick News

A Special Edition of Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: Ten Things Wrong With Television Airs Sunday, Dec. 18, 8:30 P.M. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans are watching more television than ever - an average of 8 hours a day per family - and by the time most kids finish high school, they will have logged more hours in front of a television than in front of a teacher. In Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Ten Things Wrong with Television, airing on Nickelodeon, Sunday, Dec. 18, 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT), award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee and Nick News take a critical look at the medium that plays such an important role in how kids see the world and themselves.

"To be media literate is to understand how and why TV is made, what it can and cannot do-and not be fooled by it," said Ellerbee. "We wanted a better understanding of what kids know and think about television. After all, who watches more TV than kids?"

Ellerbee and Nick News surveyed kids across the country about what bothers them about television and posted their responses on http://www.nicknews.com/. In their responses, kids said the following things bothered them: TV stereotypes people; too much sex, violence and bad language; TV news is biased; so many channels and nothing to watch; TV shows don't reflect real life; TV makes me feel bad about myself; and TV news is too negative and scary; and there are too many commercials. The order of the kids' concerns will be revealed in the episode.

In addition, Ellerbee addresses the relevance of advertising to television and media literacy issues such as understanding television, how and why it is made and what it is to people and what it can do to people.

"Kids should remember that the viewer is, and always will be, smarter than the television," Ellerbee commented. "Television should be a tool you use, not the other way around."

Nick News, which is in its 14th year-the longest-running kids' news show in television history-has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. A recipient of a 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming, the program has covered the tough topics, including the Sept. 11 attacks, the Columbine tragedy, divorce, bullying, learning disorders, all the presidential elections since 1992, the Balkan war, the Iraq War, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and AIDS. In 1992, Ellerbee's special, "A Conversation with Magic," which featured Magic Johnson, set the standard for talking with kids about AIDS. In 1994, the entire series, Nick News, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 1998, "What Are You Staring At?" a program about kids with physical disabilities, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2002, "Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan," won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2004, two Nick News Specials, "The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS" and "There's No Place Like Home," a special about homeless kids in America, were both nominated for the Outstanding Children's Programming Emmy. In fact, Nick News has received more than 20 Emmy nominations. Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is also the recipient of two Peabody Awards, including a personal one given to Ellerbee for her coverage of the President Clinton investigation; a Columbia duPont Award; and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon, now in its 26th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in 89 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network for ten consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, or Nancy Hostler,
+1-212-846-7491, both of Nickelodeon

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

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