Spears’ pregnancy: Show idea?

Nickelodeon is considering a special for its young audience about sex and love following the news that 16-year-old “Zoey 101” star Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant.

The television network has made no announcement about the future of “Zoey 101,” its popular program aimed primarily at youngsters aged 9 to 14. Filming for the show’s fourth season has finished, and episodes are scheduled to begin airing in February.

For the special, Nickelodeon said it was talking with Linda Ellerbee, the veteran newswoman who has stepped in frequently in the past with shows on talking to children about difficult issues in the news. She’s done programs about same-sex parents, AIDS, the Columbine shooting and President Bill Clinton’s impeachment scandal.

The company has received a mixed response so far from its viewers, and the news has launched a public discussion about how parents should deal with it.

“This is a great opportunity for parents at this moment to talk to their kids about this -- more important, to listen to their kids about this,” Ellerbee said.

Rather than focus strictly on Spears, Ellerbee said she was considering producing a broad discussion about how people know they’re in love, when is the right time to have sex and what are the value systems of their parents and friends.