By April MacIntyre Jul 8, 2009, 15:47 GMT
Nickelodeon was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for “Network News Documentary” given by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA).
The award was given to the documentary special, "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: C oming Home: When Parents Return from War," marking the first-ever kids television program to receive the prestigious award.
RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession.
“We are proud that Nick News has received this top honor that recognizes journalistic excellence,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “Nick News and Linda Ellerbee’s commitment over the years has provided kids with educational and relevant stories that allow them to speak their minds on important issues.”
The Premise:
Coming Home: When Parents Return from War delved into the lives of kids whose parents have been deployed to fight in the battle abroad. By the end of July 2008, 20,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan returned home – and today, nearly half (43%) of all deployed U.S. troops are parents. Coming Home: When Parents Return from War honors the bravery and sacrifices of those men and women by honoring the bravery and sacrifices of their kids.
When parents go to war, their kids must be as brave as any soldier but what about when the parent returns? Soldiers have expectations about what their kids are going to be like. Kids have expectations about what their soldier-parent is going to be like.
And they’re all going to be wrong. Kids deal with the difference between expectations and reality: Kids who’ve had to take on grownup responsibilities while their parent was deployed, those kids whose parent has returned suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or from physical wounds, and those kids whose parent is not coming home, ever.
The awards will be presented at the RTNDA Awards Dinner on October 12, 2009, in New York.
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