Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993 TAG: 9304300214
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ENGSTROM SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's why network TV news kept canceling her. Her writing was too good, her questions too clear-headed, her answers too full of the stuff of real life.
Six years ago, network TV told this self-described "old, hard-bitten reporter" that she Ellerbee was a failure because only 12 million viewers tuned in to her latest show. She told the network - well, let's just imagine what she said - and opted out of mainstream television.
So she and a partner formed Lucky Duck Productions and set about making television as they wanted, for anybody they could talk into backing them.
Ellerbee's television is plain terrific TV.
It's not so highfalutin that it attracts only the snobs who boast they've bought sets that receive just PBS.
It's not so low-brow that it is gnawed on only by Neanderthal fans of dumbed-down sitcoms.
It's just good. And these days, a lot of it is for kids, thanks to Nickelodeon, the top kids' cable channel.
"They came to us and said, `We would like to do shows that get kids to question things, that get kids interested in true stories about a real world.' They scratched their heads and said, `In fact, I guess we want to do news shows. How do you do news shows for kids?' "
Ellerbee admits she "knew nothing about that," so she told Nickelodeon: "It's very simple - the same way you do a news program for grown-ups, only better."
Thus was born "Nick News W/5," which went on the air a year ago this month and since has won a prestigious DuPont award. It is now the best news series for kids on TV.
Kids learn about earthquakes, so that they don't quake at the fear of the unknown.
They get a mini-history lesson on the Cold War, so they'll understand current legacies, like a town trembling in near economic failure because nearby military bases have been closed.
"We started from the notion that we would never talk down to our audience," Ellerbee said. "These kids are smart. We cover the behavior of nations, not how crayons are made."
"Nick News W/5" airs 1 p.m. Saturdays on Nickelodeon.
by CNB