Nick News “In Harm’s Way? Japan Through The Eyes Of Its Kids” Premieres Sunday, August 7 on Nickelodeon
via Nickelodeon press release:
THE KIDS OF JAPAN REFLECT ON THE TSUNAMI AND SHARE STORIES OF TRAGEDY AND HOPE ON NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE: “IN HARM’S WAY? JAPAN THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS KIDS”
AIRING SUNDAY, AUG. 7, ON NICKELODEON
NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2011 – On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake hit the waters off Japan causing a giant tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes. It also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, only 150 miles from Tokyo, causing radiation leakage — and widespread fear.
Nick News with Linda Ellerbee goes to Japan to meet kids whose lives were changed by the tsunami in the half-hour special, “In Harm’s Way? Japan Through The Eyes Of Its Kids,” airing Sunday, Aug. 7, at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. In the special, kids share stories of surviving a catastrophic tsunami, and facing an uncertain and possibly nuclear-threatened future.
“The kids of Japan are already and will continue to be changed by what has happened because of the tsunami,” said Ellerbee. “Now they are learning what it means to rebuild lives.”
Shoya, a 16-year-old boy, lost his mother in the tsunami. “It was a normal day. I thought, aw, today’s a school day. My mom, she saw me off at the entranceway and she handed me my lunch and I said I’ll see you. And suddenly…suddenly the wind blew, and everything changed.”
Saki, 11, has fears about the radiation leakage. “Before the earthquake happened I thought about it as being far away, but once the earthquake happened and we had radiation, Fukushima seems closer. And it’s scary.”
Fifteen-year-old Riku, who’s helping to rebuild destroyed homes, doesn’t believe in giving up. “If you completely give up then the percentage of the success has to be zero. If you just say that you’re going to keep trying, then obviously the percentage is much beyond zero. Therefore, the important thing is to set challenges for yourself.”
Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is in its 20th year and is the longest-running kids’ news show in television history. It has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 20 Emmy nominations and recently won its eighth Emmy Award for The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer for Outstanding Children’s Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children’s programming include: Coming Home: When Parents Return from War (2009); The Untouchable Kids of India (2008); Private Worlds: Kids and Autism (2007); Never Again: From the Holocaust to the Sudan (2005); Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan (2002) and What Are You Staring At? (1998). In addition, in 1995, the entire series won the Emmy. In 2009, Nick News was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for best Network News Documentary for Coming Home: When Parents Return from War — the first-ever kids’ television program to receive this prestigious award. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for explaining the impeachment of President Clinton to kids, as well as a Columbia duPont Award and more than a dozen Parents’ Choice Awards.
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