MODERATOR: Send us your questions for Linda Ellerbee -Nick's News hostess with the mostess!! Just type your question in the text box and hit Send!

NICKyapper: Hey Folks!

NICKyapper: Linda Ellerbee is in the building and will be with us any minute!

MODERATOR: Hurry and send your questions in to us now before Linda arrives!!

NICKyapper: SHE'S HERE!!!!

NICKyapper: Say hi to Linda Ellerbee everybody!!

MODERATOR: Linda, welcome and say hello to our guests here in nick.com's Blab-a-torium!!

Linda_Ellerbee: Hi everybody!

MODERATOR: Our first question of the night comes from uni2787 :)

MODMSG uni2787: Do you like your job?

Linda_Ellerbee: I love my job...I've been a journalist for 30 years...

Linda_Ellerbee: Most of that time I spent covering news stories for grown-ups.

Linda_Ellerbee: The work I've been most proud of is the work I've done for the last 10 years...

Linda_Ellerbee: For "Nick News."

Linda_Ellerbee: Every journalist ought to have the opportunity to be forced to look at the world through new eyes, through a kid's eyes...

Linda_Ellerbee: I have had that opportunity...

Linda_Ellerbee: Plus I've been able to meet the world's greatest kids!

NICKyapper: Wow, Linda! That is so great. Some of those kids are right here!!!!!!

MODERATOR: If you're joining us late, welcome to the Blab-a-torium! We're chatting LIVE about the election and all things newsworthy with Linda Ellerbee—the host of "Nick News"!

MODERATOR: mbird asked this question for you (you already answered the first part :)

MODMSG mbird: How long have you been doing "Nick News" and do you like your job? If so, what do you like most about it?

Linda_Ellerbee: We started "Nick News" ten years ago. This year we're proud to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Linda_Ellerbee: I like being a journalist because no two days at work are ever the same!

MODERATOR: esiabella would like to know...

MODMSG esiabella: When did you start to write books?

Linda_Ellerbee: The first book I wrote, back in 1986, was called "And So It Goes."

Linda_Ellerbee: It was about television news...a funny look at TV news and how TV covers the news.

Linda_Ellerbee: I wrote another book for grown-ups and then two years ago I began writing the "Get Real" series for kids...

Linda_Ellerbee: As you know, those books (8 of them in the series) are about a group of 11 year-olds who start a middle-school newspaper and in the course of covering stories in their school and in their town...

Linda_Ellerbee: They end up solving mysteries, because nobody has told them that they can't.

MODERATOR: abdawg is one of your many fans!

MODMSG abdawg2007: What is it like to know you have so many fans?

Linda_Ellerbee: It's kind of weird...there aren't many journalists my age who have ten-year-olds come up to them on the street...

Linda_Ellerbee: And recognize them...I like it!

Linda_Ellerbee: I like listening to kids. It's about giving kids a voice...letting them raise their voices and have their opinions known.

MODERATOR: We received a lot of mail at nick.com for you this week! Here's our first question ::opening envelope with Yapper's fingernails::::

MODMSG NICKMare: How do you feel about the media coverage on election night and afterwards?

Linda_Ellerbee: The media coverage on election night was confusing to everybody!

Linda_Ellerbee: Including the people in the media!

Linda_Ellerbee: Two of the networks, CBS and one other (I don't remember which), actually issued an apology for their coverage on election night...

Linda_Ellerbee: They said they added to the confusion. This is a good idea...

NICKyapper: I know it confused me!!!!!

Linda_Ellerbee: We need to apologize when we're wrong...many times people think we know more than we tell.

Linda_Ellerbee: In fact, sometimes the opposite is true...the media tells more than it knows!

Linda_Ellerbee: And that's what happened election night.

Linda_Ellerbee: We just did a special for kids that aired last night about what happened after the election...

Linda_Ellerbee: Like many Americans, I have many thoughts about this...the major one is what kids kept telling me on the special...

Linda_Ellerbee: "How can you grown-ups spend so much money on campaigns, but you can't figure out how to vote or count the votes right?!"

MODERATOR: Here's a hard question from zabagabe...

MODMSG zabagabe: What's the hardest story you've ever had to do?

Linda_Ellerbee: That's a very good question, zabagabe!

Linda_Ellerbee: I'm thinking...

Linda_Ellerbee: I would say probably the shootings at Columbine...Any story where kids are hurt is a hard story to cover.

MODERATOR: juniper must be a fan of Kids Pick The President!

MODMSG juniper: Do you think that future elections will attempt to include the voice of the kids, now that we have more shows catering to kids to learn about this process?

Linda_Ellerbee: I certainly hope so!

Linda_Ellerbee: Nickelodeon has been wonderful with its campaign, in involving kids in the process early...

Linda_Ellerbee: And I agree with that. You are a citizen of this country the day you are born...

Linda_Ellerbee: NOT the day you get the vote, when you're 18.

Linda_Ellerbee: What you think should count from the day you're born is what we should all listen to...

Linda_Ellerbee: Kids are 20% of the population...

Linda_Ellerbee: But 100% of the future!

Linda_Ellerbee: So I think it's great when kids get involved, write letters, or email us about politics...

Linda_Ellerbee: I don't think you can start too young. I want you to know about politics, to not be fooled by it...

Linda_Ellerbee: And to do a better job than we have done.

MODERATOR: agibaill was busy doing homework last night and is wondering...

MODMSG agibaill: I couldn't watch the "Nick News" Special last night, what is a chad?

Linda_Ellerbee: On the special we showed kids a punch ballot...we all tried to punch a hole through it...

Linda_Ellerbee: Often the piece of paper wouldn't go all the way through..y.ou'd see the edge of paper hanging down...

Linda_Ellerbee: The little edge that doesn't get punched through...that's a chad.

Linda_Ellerbee: For votes to be counted, all the holes had to be punched through...with no dangling.

Linda_Ellerbee: It's an old-fashioned way to vote, and we need to come up with something better!

MODERATOR: tehaamlt has a question about "Nick News"...

MODMSG tehaamlt: Does "Nick News" look for children to be on the show like ten years of age?

Linda_Ellerbee: There are 10-year-olds on our show all the time...8-year-olds, 12, 14, 13...I forgot 11...11 year-olds-too!

Linda_Ellerbee: When we look for kids, we look for normal kids...

Linda_Ellerbee: We don't go to schools and ask for their super-kids...we want normal kids who have opinions and who aren't afraid to state their opinions.

Linda_Ellerbee: That's what counts.

Linda_Ellerbee: We talk to schools, to parents, to teachers, to cable in the classroom...we're connected to kids all over the country...

Linda_Ellerbee: It just keeps growing. If "Nick News" stays on the air another 10 years, I expect I will have listened to thousands of kids personally!

Linda_Ellerbee: Incidentally, my own children say I'm much better at listening to kids now than when they were little!

MODERATOR: Here's another question we received in the mailbag this week...

MODMSG NICKFrog: Do you think Mr. Bush will have a hard time leading after all that has happened?

Linda_Ellerbee: That's a very good question!

Linda_Ellerbee: We discussed that on the special...

Linda_Ellerbee: I asked kids "do you think he will be treated differently because of what happened in this election?"

Linda_Ellerbee: All of the kids said "yes."

Linda_Ellerbee: However, they also all said—and I agree—he is our president...He deserves our respect as president.

Linda_Ellerbee: There's another thing at work here...the U.S. Congress (House and Senate) are pretty evenly split between Republicans and Democrats...

Linda_Ellerbee: And we have a president who didn't win the popular vote.

Linda_Ellerbee: What this means is that President Bush will have to work especially hard to get things done because he cannot say "90% of the people wanted me to be President."

Linda_Ellerbee: This is not necessarily a bad thing!

Linda_Ellerbee: Not necessarily bad for ANY president!

NICKyapper: If you're just joining us, welcome to the Blab-a-torium!!!!

MODERATOR: zabagabe has another great question for you!

MODMSG zabagabe: What do you think of the online voting that happened in some states this past election?

Linda_Ellerbee: Online voting is an interesting idea...

Linda_Ellerbee: I believe one day we will vote that way...the kids we spoke to on the special said "Not yet!"

Linda_Ellerbee: The Internet isn't safe enough...there are hackers who are smart enough to rig the elections on the Internet...

Linda_Ellerbee: The kids also pointed out today that not everyone has a computer.

Linda_Ellerbee: So I don't think we will see voting online everywhere for some years yet...but we will see it someday.

Linda_Ellerbee: YOU will see it..one of you right now at your computer may one day be president...

Linda_Ellerbee: And have been elected online!

MODERATOR: ambergirl1 loves staying in touch!

MODMSG ambergirl1: Linda, how can kids email you or "Nick News"?

Linda_Ellerbee: You can email me at linda@ldp.com.

Linda_Ellerbee: You can write to me also at NickNews.com or nick.com

Linda_Ellerbee: We are everywhere!

Linda_Ellerbee: And we get a lot of our story ideas from kids who email us...

Linda_Ellerbee: And sometimes from teachers who email us.

MODERATOR: nickeloid has a question about the election process :)

MODMSG nickeloid: Do you think that the popular vote should count in the election?

Linda_Ellerbee: I'm assuming you mean that the popular vote should count MORE than the electoral vote...

Linda_Ellerbee: That's a tough question...the electoral college was designed for a number of reasons:

Linda_Ellerbee: To give states which don't have a lot of people in them a voice. If we depended only on the popular vote, candidates would never go to states that don't have a lot of people in them.

Linda_Ellerbee: Why would they bother to campaign in, say, Wyoming...they'd spend all their time in LA, New York, Chicago...

Linda_Ellerbee: But I do think we need to figure out some changes in how it works.

Linda_Ellerbee: For example, right now we have or will have next week a president who the majority of Americans did not vote for!

NICKyapper: We're chatting with Linda Ellerbee, the host of "Nick News"!!!!

NICKyapper: Please send us your questions for Linda Ellerbee NOW!!!!

MODERATOR: wotr2000 is turning green with this question :)

MODMSG wotr2000: Why do you think that a good guy like Ralph Nader didnt get many votes?

Linda_Ellerbee: Wow, that's a tough one, wotr2000!

Linda_Ellerbee: The Democratic and Republican parties are the two major parties...they get most of the support...

Linda_Ellerbee: And most of the money...they need that money to buy TV ads and to get their message to voters.

Linda_Ellerbee: If you don't have enough money, your message won't get to enough voters.

Linda_Ellerbee: There are many people who think it would be good to have a strong third party in this country...

Linda_Ellerbee: And certainly it would make elections more interesting.

Linda_Ellerbee: Ralph Nader, by the way, is only one of many good men who did not get elected.

Linda_Ellerbee: It's also important to remember that in any presidential election there are actually many people running...

Linda_Ellerbee: Sometimes hundreds!

Linda_Ellerbee: Generally we only hear about the major party candidates.

MODERATOR: bensel has a backyard question :)

MODMSG bensel: How do you select the "In My Backyard" series on your show?

Linda_Ellerbee: A lot of the "backyard" segments come from kids who write to us...

Linda_Ellerbee: And this is a good time to explain what we mean by "my backyard..."

Linda_Ellerbee: We don't mean what you see out your back door...your swing set or baseball diamond...

Linda_Ellerbee: We mean "backyard" in the biggest sense. For example, if you lived in New York City, you might write to us and say the Statue of Liberty is in my "backyard..."

Linda_Ellerbee: Can I take you on a tour of it? And we would say "yes."

Linda_Ellerbee: It's something in your area...something other kids would want to know about...

Linda_Ellerbee: Most of our ideas do come from kids, who write to us or email us.

MODERATOR: spicia has a technical question :)

MODMSG spicia: If our president were to get impeached, would the vice president get put in his place or would they find a new president?

Linda_Ellerbee: If for some reason the president is impeached by the House of Representatives and the Senate then votes to remove him from office...

Linda_Ellerbee: The vice-president becomes president.

Linda_Ellerbee: But remember, being impeached is not the same thing as being thrown out of office.

Linda_Ellerbee: President Clinton was impeached by the House...but the Senate did not vote to kick him out of office.

MODERATOR: rockstar75 has a historical question for you :)

MODMSG rockstar75: Do you like to talk about history the most???

Linda_Ellerbee: It depends on how you define "history."

Linda_Ellerbee: For instance, by the time you read on your computer what I'm saying right now...what I'm saying will already be history!

Linda_Ellerbee: So history isn't just something you read at school, in a textbook—history is all around you.

Linda_Ellerbee: History is what you saw in this election...and for kids your age you will probably never see another election like this...

Linda_Ellerbee: So you have witnessed a big piece of history!

Linda_Ellerbee: I have always loved reading history...How can you know who we are if you don't know who we were?

Linda_Ellerbee: How can you know where we are going if you don't know where we have been?

Linda_Ellerbee: There's nothing complicated about history...

Linda_Ellerbee: It's simply the "story of us."

MODERATOR: kibbie has a question about this election and the candidates...

MODMSG kibbie: Why did the presidential canidates keep taking each other to court?

Linda_Ellerbee: It was part of the legal process, kibbie...

Linda_Ellerbee: We are a nation based on law...both men believed that if all the votes were counted and counted accurately, that they would be president...

Linda_Ellerbee: Each believed he had won...the question became "Were all the votes counted and were they counted accurately? Should they be recounted?"

Linda_Ellerbee: That question ended up in the courts because it seemed in the end the only way to decide the issue...

Linda_Ellerbee: It was , however, extremely unusual...and when the history books are written about this election, one thing they will all say is...

Linda_Ellerbee:This is the first Presidential Election in U.S. history decided by the Supreme Court.

NICKyapper: Hey Blabbers! Please send your questions ONCE and only once and make sure that they don't include any inappropriate language.

NICKyapper:If you flood or are disrespectful - you will be kicked out of the Blab-a-torium!!!

MODERATOR: Have you ever seen a 3-eyed frog? Well our Blab-a-torium has one that can type!

MODMSG 3eyedfrog: What was your favorite subject in school as a girl?

Linda_Ellerbee: These are really good questions!

Linda_Ellerbee: My favorite subject in school, frog, was English...I loved to read.

Linda_Ellerbee: I'm a writer today because I was a reader when I was your age...I always loved to read.

Linda_Ellerbee: I was not terribly good in math...

Linda_Ellerbee: Ok, I'm still not! But I still like to read!

Linda_Ellerbee: I also liked social studies..and I liked languages.

Linda_Ellerbee: I studied French, Latin, German and Spanish.

MODERATOR: Of course you don't have to answer, but dafs would like to know...

MODMSG dafs: Who would you vote for, Mrs. Ellerbee?

NICKyapper: Hmm, getting personal!!

Linda_Ellerbee: One of the wonderful things about the American system, dafs, is that each person's vote is private!

Linda_Ellerbee: You never have to tell another living soul how you voted!

Linda_Ellerbee: As a journalist, it would be wrong for me to say how I voted...but I will tell you this...

Linda_Ellerbee: I did vote.

NICKyapper: Hey there, Blabbers!!! If you're just joining us, welcome to the Blab-a-torium!!!

MODERATOR: comidus would like your opinion :)

MODMSG comidus: Do you think the election was fair?

Linda_Ellerbee: Oh, boy, have you asked me a question I'd rather not answer, comidus!

Linda_Ellerbee: I think there are many questions about this election that still haven't been answered, and I'm curious to know the answers.

Linda_Ellerbee: I also want to say that whether it was fair or not, it's over...George W. Bush is the president and he deserves and gets our respect.

Linda_Ellerbee: Politicians and historians and grown-ups and kids are going to be arguing for a very long time about whether this election was fair...

Linda_Ellerbee: It will be up to each and every one of you to make up your own mind...

Linda_Ellerbee: As with everything else, don't let other people do your thinking for you.

MODMSG ilovernr: I think Mrs. Ellerbee rocks. I'd vote for her.

Linda_Ellerbee: Thank you for saying that I rock...

Linda_Ellerbee: But my name is "Linda" not "Mrs. Ellerbee"! Kids rock! If you want a straight answer...

Linda_Ellerbee: Ask a kid, NOT a politician!

NICKyapper: We're chatting with "Nick News" hostess with the mostess, Linda Ellerbee!

MODERATOR: yoni atar had fun writing this question :)

MODMSG yoni atar: Do you still like to write?

Linda_Ellerbee: Yoni Atar...I do write...I write what I say on the news, I write books, magazine articles...

Linda_Ellerbee: It's how I make my living...it's a good way to make a living.

Linda_Ellerbee: I love telling stories, whether they are true as on "Nick News" or made-up as in the "Get Real" book series.

Linda_Ellerbee: Writing is not only fun...you don't have to get dressed up for it!

Linda_Ellerbee: You can wear whatever you want! And I don't much like getting dressed up!

MODMSG treebum: I love your books!

MODMSG ponitail: You are my news hero.

NICKyapper: Linda is telling us all about herself, "Nick News" and the presidential election!!! Send us your questions for Linda Ellerbee NOW!!!! Just type them into the text box and hit SEND!

MODERATOR: Here's another question from the mailbag at nick.com :)

MODMSG NICKMare: What's your favorite episode of "Nick News"?

Linda_Ellerbee: Wow! It's probably whatever episode I just did...

Linda_Ellerbee: I loved working on the special on the election this year...

Linda_Ellerbee: I very much loved working on the special early this year "Kids Pick the Issues"—what kids thought the important issues are.

Linda_Ellerbee: I also loved very much a special we did last year...a biography of Muhammed Ali...

Linda_Ellerbee: I wanted kids to know who Ali is and why he's important!

Linda_Ellerbee: I also loved the stories where kids look around them, see a problem, and all by themselves, see a solution or at least a way to help make it better.

Linda_Ellerbee: I have the greatest respect for kids...they are honest, have a strong sense of what's right...and they are much smarter than most adults think they are.

Linda_Ellerbee: Kids aren't dumber...they're just shorter!

MODMSG hiphopstar: I like watching your show I learn A LOT from it !

Linda_Ellerbee: I thank you, hiphopstar...an episode this week has a very good story on Wyclef Jean...and if you like hip hop, you already know who Wyclef Jean is.

Linda_Ellerbee: One reason I like Wyclef Jean is that he mixes...he makes hip hop using rock and roll, jazz, country...and even classical music.

Linda_Ellerbee: This guy is helping to invent a whole new form of music! That's pretty exciting!

MODERATOR: icuto is looking forward to the next election maybe?

MODMSG icuto: Will you ever try to be the president Linda?

Linda_Ellerbee: I can say without absolute certainty that the answer to that question is...

Linda_Ellerbee: No!

NICKyapper: Aw, shucks. I would vote for you!!!

Linda_Ellerbee: I am very happy being a reporter...I don't want to be president.

Linda_Ellerbee: But I want YOU to want to be President.

MODERATOR: 1funkygirl loves to read!

MODMSG 1funkygirl: Are you interested in books like "Harry Potter"?

Linda_Ellerbee: I love the Harry Potter series, funky...they are wonderful books.

Linda_Ellerbee: They spark the imagination of people of any age...that's what good books do.

Linda_Ellerbee: When you stop to think about it, books are nothing more than a portable piece of thought...

Linda_Ellerbee: Books can take you anywhere...any time...they can take you outside yourself into other worlds...

Linda_Ellerbee: And inside yourself to help you understand yourself better.

Linda_Ellerbee: There's almost nothing you can't find in books...the same cannot be said of television!

Linda_Ellerbee: Television has a lot of good things going for it...there is some great TV out there...

Linda_Ellerbee: TV worth watching...but there's also TV out there you couldn't pay me to watch!

Linda_Ellerbee: On the other hand, there are books you couldn't pay me to read!

Linda_Ellerbee: For instance, when I was in 7th grade, they made me read a book called "Silas Marner"

Linda_Ellerbee: I hated it!

Linda_Ellerbee: Later on when I was grown I went back and read it...

Linda_Ellerbee: And I still hated it!

NICKyapper: 10 more minutes with Linda Ellerbee!!!! Send us your questions NOW! Type in your questions below and hit SEND!

MODERATOR: vsaturn has one of the 2 traditional questions always asked here in the Blab-a-torium...

MODMSG vsaturn65: Do you have a favorite Nicktoon?

Linda_Ellerbee: There's a lot on Nick I like..."Rugrats"...

Linda_Ellerbee: Who doesn't like "Rugrats"? I'm a real American...

Linda_Ellerbee: There's also a lot on Nick Jr. that I like...I like "Blue's Clues" a lot!

MODERATOR: co bear hopes you don't change, but in case...

MODMSG co bear: Mrs. Ellerbee, if you could change your job, would you?

Linda_Ellerbee: I would change my job if I could play third base for the NY Yankees...

Linda_Ellerbee: Unfortunately, the Yankees don't seem to want me to play third base for them!

Linda_Ellerbee: So I guess I'll go on being a reporter.

Linda_Ellerbee: I wanted to play third base for the Yankees when I was 8 years old...

Linda_Ellerbee: Then the grown-ups explained "You'd have to be very good..."

Linda_Ellerbee: I said "I'd learn..." They said "You'd have to move to NY"...I said I'd move.

Linda_Ellerbee: They said you would have to practice very hard...I said I would.

Linda_Ellerbee: Then they said "You'd have to be a boy" ...and I couldn't say anything to that.

Linda_Ellerbee: I am STILL waiting for the first girl to play major league baseball!

MODMSG ssann: My favorite show is your show!

MODERATOR: picsesgirl has a great name and a great question!! She must want some inside scoop!

MODMSG picsesgirl: How do you get your information?

Linda_Ellerbee: The basic way a reporter gets information is to read and to ask questions...it's just that simple.

Linda_Ellerbee: In fact, if you notice at the end of every "Nick News" show, the last words out of my mouth are "If you want to know, ask!"

Linda_Ellerbee: Be your own reporter...ask questions about your world, ask the hard questions...

Linda_Ellerbee: Some of the questions you've asked me tonight are hard...that's good!

Linda_Ellerbee:Keep asking, keep reading...if you are a reporter, it's not enough to get information...

Linda_Ellerbee: You then want to turn around and tell everyone else!

NICKyapper: Five more minutes Blabbers!!!

MODERATOR: Since nobody else asked the 2nd traditional question of the Blab, I will!! What's your favorite ice cream?

MODERATOR: We have time for one more question :)

Linda_Ellerbee: My favorite ice cream...it's always a hard choice...

Linda_Ellerbee: I love coffee ice cream best of all...I also like chocolate...

Linda_Ellerbee: My favorite dessert is a hot fudge sundae made with coffee ice cream, hot fudge, and LOTS of whipped cream!

Linda_Ellerbee: I wish I had one right now!

MODERATOR: Our last question of the night comes from crazee4u and is an interesting thought!!

MODMSG crazee4u: If the presidents were 2 Nicktoons, who would they be?

Linda_Ellerbee: I would only get myself in trouble by answering that, crazee4u!

Linda_Ellerbee: The good thing about being a reporter is you get to ASK questions without having to ANSWER them...

Linda_Ellerbee: In fact, "Nick News" is based on the premise that asking questions is as important as answering them...

Linda_Ellerbee: On our show we raise more questions than we answer...very often I will say "See what you think..."

Linda_Ellerbee: I want you to look at all sides...see what YOU think...it's not important what I think...

Linda_Ellerbee: It's important what you think...that's why "Nick News" exists in the first place...to give you a voice!

Linda_Ellerbee: I hope one day you'll be sitting around with your kids watching "Nick News"

Linda_Ellerbee: And you'll say, I remember that woman when she still had teeth!

NICKyapper: Thanks so much, Linda

NICKyapper: It has been so nice Blabbing with you!

MODERATOR: Linda, it was great having you here tonight! The blabbers would love it if you popped in every once in a while to the CURRENT EVENTS message board here on nick.com. And we sure hope you come back again!

MODMSG buddy12: You're the best:)!!!

Linda_Ellerbee: I will come back again...any time you ask me!

MODMSG ilovernr: You go, Linda!

MODMSG ncpoohstix: Thank you for answering all of the questions!

Linda_Ellerbee: I just want to say to the kids "Thank you from the bottom of my heart"—on behalf of everybody I work with, thank you...

Linda_Ellerbee: It's YOUR show and it will remain YOUR show!

MODMSG tobasco729: We love you

Linda_Ellerbee: Kids rule! Kids rock! Rock and rule!

MODMSG ncpoohstix: I hope you'll be on the show for a long time

MODMSG mew5555551: You're cool! Hope to see ya again!~

MODMSG zzcandyzz: Thank you LINDA you are the best

MODMSG ambergirl1: Will you please come back on here sometime?