Linda Ellerbee to Receive RTNDA’s Paul White Award

WASHINGTON: The Radio Television Digital News Association named Linda Ellerbee the 2011 recipient of the Paul White Award. Ellerbee, of Nickelodeon Television’s “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee,” will receive RTDNA’s highest honor during the Excellence in Journalism 2011 Conference in New Orleans this September.

Ellerbee and her company, Lucky Duck Productions, created Nick News for Nickelodeon in 1991. Nick News is the longest running children’s news program in television history and has earned honors traditionally associated with adult programming. Ellerbee serves as executive producer, writer, and anchor for “Nick News.”

“The Paul White Award goes to those who have changed broadcasting and news through a lifetime of hard work and leadership,” said Stacey Woelfel, chairman of the committee that selects the Paul White winner. “Linda Ellerbee has done that over and over again, changing the way dayparts and demographics get their news.”

In 2009, Ellerbee and “Nick News” were honored with RTDNA’s Edward R. Murrow Award for “Network News Documentary” for the documentary special, “Coming Home: When Parents Return from War.” It marked the first time a television program for children received a Murrow Award.

In addition to the Edward R. Murrow Award in 2009, “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” has received, among other honors, three Peabody Awards, two duPont Columbia Awards, eight Emmy Awards. The series is currently nominated for its ninth Emmy.

Before joining Nickelodeon, Ellerbee worked as a political correspondent for NBC News and later anchored the NBC News programs “Weekend” and “NBC News Overnight,” where she became known for the phrase “And so it goes” at the conclusion of the broadcasts.

Following her time with NBC, Ellerbee anchored and wrote the ABC News’ primetime series “Our World.” She won an Emmy for her writing. She is the author of three books, including the 2005 bestseller “Take Big Bites: Adventures Around the World and Across the Table.”

RTDNA established the Paul White Award in 1956 to honor the broadcast news pioneer who served as the first news director at CBS. The award recognizes an individual’s lifetime contribution to electronic journalism. Past Paul White recipients include Steve Kroft, Christiane Amanpour, Charles Gibson, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Bob Schieffer, Ted Koppel, Pauline Frederick and Edward R. Murrow.