WHAT DOES LIFE LOOK LIKE IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT?

BLIND KIDS SHARE THEIR STORIES IN NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE "OUT OF SIGHT: HOW BLIND KIDS SEE THE WORLD," AIRING MONDAY, JAN. 28, AT 8PM (ET/PT) ON NICKELODEON

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2013 -- Kids describe what it's like to live without sight in the brand-new Nick News with Linda Ellerbee special, "Out of Sight: How Blind Kids See the World," premiering Monday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon. They discuss the challenges and opportunities they face living in blindness.

"There are actually people who will stay away from us or won't talk to us," says 15-year-old Alyssa of Colorado Springs, Colo. "I had a friend - we were really good friends - and after I went blind, he stopped coming around."

"Some people see my blindness as an easy target for bullying, for ridicule�you know, taking advantage of my blindness," says 14-year-old Chris of Baltimore, Md.

The special discusses how many blind kids know more about what they can do than what they cannot and how they use technologies to help them navigate a "sighted" world.

"Some people choose their clothes by using their vision," says 15-year-old Santiago of Hollister, Calif. "I use an application on my phone that tells me the color of my clothes."

10-year-old Xin Ju says she sees being blind as an advantage. "I don't need to see something to believe in it. We use our hearts and our imaginations."

"We've listened to what these kids tell us," says Ellerbee. "What they want sighted kids to know about them - which is, in most cases, that they are just regular kids. But me, I think they're pretty special."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 22nd 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 18 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).