Original Nickelodeon Press Release:
DEAF CHILDREN SHARE THEIR STORIES IN NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE "NOW HEAR THIS! WHAT IF YOU WERE DEAF?"
PREMIERING TUESDAY, AUG. 5, AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT) ON NICKELODEON
*High res art and screeners are available upon request; art also available at www.nickpress.com
NEW YORK, July 29, 2014 – What is it like to be deaf? What is it like to not hear music, friends, family, the phone, a smoke alarm or an oncoming car? Kids who are deaf share their experiences in the brand-new Nick News With Linda Ellerbee half-hour special, "Now Hear This! What If You Were Deaf?" premiering Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
Isabella Bucci, of Hopedale, Massachusetts, pictured with her teacher, Casey Spencer and classmates Leah Kaftan and Sarah Heldenbergh will appear on the upcoming Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, Now Hear This! What If You Were Deaf? Photo: Martin Toub/Lucky Duck Productions
"Being deaf is challenging. But I can do many things hearing people can do, I just do it differently," says Cici, 12, from Florissant, Mo. Isabella, 12, from Hopedale, Mass., was born deaf to deaf parents and uses American Sign Language to communicate. "I'm okay with never hearing anything. I don't need to have surgery or use a hearing aid."
CiCi Gregory, of Florissant, Missouri, talks about growing up deaf on the upcoming Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, Now Hear This! What If You Were Deaf? Photo: Martin Toub/Lucky Duck Productions
Sammie, 12, from McKinney, Texas, was born with a serious hearing loss that got worse as she got older. She decided a cochlear implant, which can help some deaf people hear, was the right choice for her. "My parents presented the pros and cons, and I was really excited about the pros," she says. "It's like a bionic ear. I'm part robot."
Arbab, 14, from Philadelphia, Penn. has a different life. "I'm the only deaf person in my family and nobody in my family signs at all...we just use gestures," he says. "I do wish I was more connected with my family but they're all hearing, so the deaf world really becomes my family."
"All deaf kids live (or have lived) with outside pressure to adapt to a hearing world — to be like everyone else," says Ellerbee. "Well, what's so special about being like everyone else? Perhaps the biggest problem facing kids who don't hear is a hearing world that doesn't listen."
Kaylee Wells, of King City, Missouri, pictured with her interpreter, Sarah Schottel, will appear on the upcoming Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, Now Hear This! What If You Were Deaf? Photo: Martin Toub/Lucky Duck Productions
Kaylee, 11, from King City, Mo., doesn't know any other deaf people, doesn't have an implant and goes to a public school. She is able to communicate because the kids and teachers at her school made a concentrated effort to learn sign language so Kaylee doesn't feel left out.
"I know that the world is different from my school because not all hearing people know sign language," she says. "I wish that all hearing people from around the world would know sign language so I could always feel included."
Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 23rd year and is the longestrunning 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 tenth Emmy Award for Forgotten But Not Gone: Kids, HIV & AIDS in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children's programming include: Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics (2011); (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.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 35th 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 and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).
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