Nickelodeon Names Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson as Vice President of News Programming

Source: Nickelodeon/The Toy Book

Nickelodeon is marking a return to news programming for kids with the appointment of Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning producer Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson as vice president of news programming. Additionally, she will serve as executive producer of Nick News, which was relaunched in June with the Kids Race and Unity special hosted by Alicia Keys.

Laguerre-Wilkinson joins Nickelodeon from CBS News’ 60 Minutes where she produced stories for Ed Bradley, Anderson Cooper, Steve Kroft, Bob Simon, Lesley Stahl, and others.

In her new role, Laguerre-Wikinson will lead new initiatives to bring kids news on timely issues across all of Nickelodeon’s platforms. She will report to Brian Robbins, president of ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment.

“Magalie is a gifted journalist and producer with a long-proven ability to communicate the news of the day with compassion, empathy, and precision,” says Robbins. “Kids are well aware of the issues that affect their families and the world, and the talent and experience Magalie brings will serve as the foundation for how we aid or spark important conversations for our audience.”

The original Nick News aired for 25 years and was created, written, and anchored by Linda Ellerbee. The award-winning series came to an end upon Ellerbee’s retirement in 2016.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.