''Nick News'' (formerly titled ''Nick News W/5'' and later ''Nick News with Linda Ellerbee'') is an American educational

television news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...

aimed at children and teenagers. It originally aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

from 1992 to 2015. It also aired on Nickelodeon's sister network

Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

from 1999 to 2002. ''Nick News'' took the form of a highly rated and recognized news program for children and teenagers alike, discussing important social, political and economic issues in a format intended for both children and adults. In June 2020, the show was revived. The show is known for allowing normal American teenagers to speak out on their own personal opinions on a number of past and current worldwide issues and topics, including events such as

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

Linda Ellerbee

''Nick News'' was hosted by former

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...

personality

Linda Ellerbee Linda Ellerbee (born Linda Jane Smith; August 15, 1944) is an American journalist, anchor, producer, reporter, author, speaker and commentator, noted as longtime Washington correspondent for NBC News and host of NBC News Overnight. She is wide ...

from 1992 to 2015. Ellerbee was one of five candidates auditioned over the course of two weeks. She was chosen because her competitors were "too loud and obnoxious", claimed one of the show's set designers. According to Ellerbee: "I was honored when I was named the host of Nick News. The show will be about kids and their everyday lives." Ellerbee has never missed an episode due to illness. The show is officially known as ''Nick News with Linda Ellerbee''. Throughout the years, ''Nick News'' has featured special guests of honor, such as

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, and

Dr. Phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased rene ...

History

''Nick News'' was originally known as ''Nick News W/5'' until the show's "who, what, when, where, and why" type format was dropped. During its original run, ''Nick News with Linda Ellerbee'' was telecast on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. and later 8:30 p.m. on

, and ran in repeats at various timeslots. ''Nick News'' was #1 in the ratings on Nickelodeon in 1992–1993, and has never gone below #6 in the ratings, making it one of the most consistently highly rated news shows on TV. The show was also telecast in primetime on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on Saturdays from 1993 until 1996. From 1993 to 1997, the first-run syndicated version of the show—distributed by Viacom Enterprises (now

CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glob ...

)—aired on local stations—both independent and network-affiliated—all over the United States of America. The show won two

Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

, one in 1991 and one in 1994, and Linda Ellerbee won a Personal Award in 1998 for her work on the show. The show also previously appeared on early weekday mornings, fully commercial-free as a part of the television cable industry's '' Cable in the Classroom'' initiative, which urged teachers from schools across the globe to tape episodes of ''Nick News'' and show them to their classes during school hours. The show was a regular part of the lineup on the

channel, one of Nickelodeon's sister networks, from February 1999 until March 2002.

TeenNick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Ni ...

aired two episodes of the show in repeats on both October 25, 2010 and February 15, 2011, and also aired once as part of their nightly block

The Splat NickRewind (formerly The '90s Are All That, The Splat, and NickSplat) was an American late night programming block that broadcast nightly over the channel space of TeenNick. The block showed reruns of mid-late 1980s, 1990s, and early-mid 2000 ...

from November 5–6 (Election Day 2016 weekend). ''Nick News'' is well known for many trademarks during its run on Nickelodeon, such as Ellerbee's signature tagline, "If you want to know, ask!" After nearly 25 years on the air, an hour-long finale titled "Hello, I Must Be Going: 25 Years of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” aired on Nickelodeon on December 15, 2015. The episode featured clips from older episodes of the series. The final episode was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program was presented to television programming aimed towards children in any format. Series, specials and non-fiction programming were all eligible for the award. Prior to 1974, both daytime an ...

, a category for which the series had been nominated 22 times, with nine wins across the series's 23-year history.

Revival

On June 23, 2020, Nickelodeon announced that it would be reviving ''Nick News'' in a series of hour-long specials. The first installment, titled ''Kids, Race and Unity: A Nick News Special'', premiered on June 29 and was hosted by U.S. musician

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. ''Kids, Race and Unity'' was made in direct response to the wave of protests and unrest following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

, with its purpose being to "amplify the voices and experiences of Black children across the country". A number of special guests appeared on the program, including

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

co-founders Patrisse Cullors,

Alicia Garza Alicia Garza (born January 4, 1981) is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the international Black Lives Matter movement. She has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for dom ...

, and

Opal Tometi Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of ...

; teen activist Marley Dias, founder of the #1000BlackGirlsBook campaign; 12-year-old singer and viral sensation Keedron Bryant; Ibram X. Kendi, author of ''Antiracist Baby''; Teens4Equality founders Jade Fuller, Nya Collins, Zee Thomas, Kennedy Green, Emma Rose Smith and Mikayla Smith; social media star Tabitha Brown and her family; and family therapist, Dr. George James. In its current iteration, Nickelodeon has partnered with its corporate sibling

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

on presentation. On October 6, 2020, ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

'' veteran Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson was tapped as executive producer of the ''Nick News'' revival, as well as the newly-developed Vice President of News Programming for Nickelodeon. CBS News correspondent Jamie Yuccas serves as the host, while reporters

Vladimir Duthiers Vladimir Duthiers (; ; born December 21, 1969) is an American television journalist who has been a correspondent for CBS News since 2014 following five years at CNN. He was a member of the CNN team that won two Emmy Awards for its coverage of the ...

, Enrique Acevedo, and Imtiaz Tab also contribute. Nick News also appears as interstitials during regular Nickelodeon programming to cover current events.

Notable episodes

In 1993, a then-12-year-old

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

was featured after writing letters to get a company to change a national television commercial she viewed as sexist. In 1993, there was an episode on global warming entitled "Plan it for the Planet". On December 9, 2007, Nick News had shown another global warming special entitled "A Global Warning From the Kids of the World". Both specials looked at different regions of the Earth like Australia, Alaska, the Netherlands, the Philippines, California and Kenya, showing the changes in the climate and the effects of those changes. During the later part of the December 9, 2007, episode,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

talked to children about the issues that global warming is causing for ordinary people. In 2002, ''Nick News'' celebrated its 10th anniversary, adds with a special called "Happy Birthday, Nick News". It featured many flashbacks from the first 10 years of ''Nick News''. On June 18, 2002, Nickelodeon showed "Nick News Special Edition: My Family Is Different". This had one of the largest audiences in ''Nick News history. The show featured regular children talking about different issues that have had a major effect on their personal lives, including hate crimes, child abuse and sexual harassment. During this episode, openly lesbian parent

appeared on ''Nick News'' to talk with the children and Ellerbee about being different, with other well-known people as well. The show has also included children from households across the globe that oppose

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

, as well as conservative commentator

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

. On October 12, 2008, an episode called "Nickelodeon's Kids Pick the President" featured children from across the United States asking political, economic and health care questions of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, as part of a way for American children to choose. Obama was chosen as the winner in that year's Kids Pick the President poll.

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

appeared in an episode with his son who was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and their love of

model trains Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

.Mark Lyons & Linda Ellerbee - Nick News - 1994 Peabody Award Acceptance Speech - Peabody Awards on YouTube
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Video releases

References

External links

* {{Educational Nickelodeon 1990s American children's television series 1990s American television news shows 1990s Nickelodeon original programming 1992 American television series debuts 2000s American children's television series 2000s American television news shows 2000s Nickelodeon original programming 2010s American children's television series 2010s American television news shows 2010s Nickelodeon original programming 2015 American television series endings 2020s American children's television series 2020s American television news shows 2020s Nickelodeon original programming 2020 American television series debuts American children's education television series American television series revived after cancellation Current affairs shows English-language education television programming Peabody Award-winning television programs Television Academy Honors winners