Nick News Airs Linda Ellerbee Special on Domestic Violence Tonight

Kids break their silence in the brand-new Nick News with Linda Ellerbee half-hour special, "Family Secrets: When Violence Hits Home," premiering tonight, Aug. 13, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The special focuses on kids around the country who have witnessed domestic violence in their homes and are speaking up about it.

"Sadly, for millions of kids in this country, domestic violence is a fact of life," says Ellerbee. "It happens in all races, economic situations and family configurations. And it's usually kept hidden from the outside world."

"We knew it was wrong," says Chelsea, 17. "We knew that the violence was something that my dad could get in trouble for. So, we chose not to tell because we loved him. As a kid you feel hopeless because the two people you love are arguing and fighting and you're confused."

Zoja, 11, was afraid for her little sister. "I would take my sister into her room to not hear them fighting, and I would tell her it would be alright. But it was scary."

"Me and my family made a decision that we're gonna get the word out about what happened because there's still kids in America that are living in the shadows," says Elijah, 14. "You don't know what's behind doors."
Despite all these kids have been through, they still have hope for the future. "I can't change my past," says Chelsea. "I can't change how my parents chose to live, but I can change how I decide to live and how my life is going to be. Because of what I went through, there's nothing I can't do now."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 22nd 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 21 Emmy nominations and recently won its ninth Emmy Award for Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children's programming include: The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (2010); 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.