OPENLY GAY KIDS SHARE THEIR STORIES IN NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE: "COMING OUT," PREMIERING TUESDAY, OCT. 7, AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT) ON NICKELODEON

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2014 - Openly gay kids share their personal stories and experiences in a brand-new Nick News With Linda Ellerbee half-hour special, "Coming Out," premiering Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. Airing the week of the 26th National Coming Out Day, the special follows the everyday lives of gay kids as they face fear, acceptance, bullying, isolation, encouragement and ignorance, and shows how straight and non-straight teens can come together to triumph over bullying.

"It takes bravery for a kid to come out," says Ellerbee. "Being accepted by straight people is not a given. Being young and 'different' is not easy. This may be tough to talk about, or hear about, but this is important stuff. Not addressing it doesn't make it go away."

"In elementary school, I knew I was different from the other guys," says Bradley, 16. "When I realized I was gay, the biggest problem I faced was wondering if my family would accept me or not. I'd heard stereotypes about families kicking their kids out and I was wondering, 'Oh gosh that might be me.'"

"I'll take a chance. With one heart-wrenching throwback out of this closet, I'll say the words I've been meaning to say my whole life. I'm lesbian," says Christine, 14.

"Coming out isn't going to be a one-time thing. You're going to meet new people every day, says Lia, 16. "You're going to always have that burning question in the back of your head: Am I going to come out today? Am I going to come out tomorrow?"

"I'm not a special case," Marcel, 13, said. "There are many people who are my age, and are gay. And you (kids) can say, 'Well, I don't know any gay people.' You probably do, but they're probably not out to you."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 23rd 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 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. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).