In recognition of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), Nickelodeon will premiere the Nick News with Linda Ellerbee special, "Forgotten But Not Gone: Kids, HIV & AIDS," on Monday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). The special features kids who are living with or affected by AIDS and sheds some light on this important issue.
One of the first Nick News specials ever produced in 1992, featured Earvin "Magic" Johnson and focused on the virus and kids who had it, including six-year-old Hydeia Broadbent. She had full-blown AIDS since the age of three and was not expected to live past the age of five. On that special titled "A Conversation with Magic," Hydeia said, "We just want to be treated like normal people." She is living and is a powerful AIDS activist who educates other young people around the country.
"Becoming an AIDS activist wasn't something that I sought after, it's just kind of something that happened," says Hydeia. "Because I had the confidence to talk about having AIDS, there was a responsibility placed on me to speak out."
She adds. "We've forgotten to educate a younger generation, so we have people the first time they meet someone with HIV or AIDs, they're fearful... no one has ever spoken to them about how you treat someone who has HIV or AIDS."
"We've known about HIV and AIDS for three decades," says Ellerbee. "In the beginning, the deadly epidemic was in the news every day. That's not the case anymore. And that's part of the problem."
The kids featured in the special discuss their experiences being treated badly or differently from others. They also address some of the misconceptions about AIDS and the importance of educating young people so they become more informed and tolerant.
"When I was first told I had HIV, I thought I was dirty," says 15-year-old Jarron of Dolton, Ill. "It feels like guilt...you don't want to live in your own skin. I was really scared and ashamed of myself before I knew what HIV was exactly."
"I lost friends because I was HIV positive - and I had a nickname: PAIDS," says 18-year-old Paige of Indianapolis, Ind. "I don't want to be known as the girl with HIV."
Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 21st 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.
Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd 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 more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years.
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