News at Ten
Encyclopedia
The ITV News at Ten is the flagship news
programme on British
television network
ITV
, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox
in 1967. It was originally planned as a thirteen week project in July 1967 because senior figures at ITV refused to believe that a permanent 30-minute late night news bulletin would be welcomed by viewers. However, the bulletin proved to be very popular with audiences and it remained a fixture of the ITV schedule.
News at Ten popularised some of the most well-known faces in television news, among them Alastair Burnet
, Sandy Gall
, Reginald Bosanquet
, Alastair Stewart
, Carol Barnes
and Trevor McDonald
, and the familiarity of the close-knit team of reporters and newscasters at ITN meant that when it was initially axed by ITV in March 1999, to make way for entertainment programming, there was a public outcry. The bulletin made a short-lived return in 2001, before being replaced with a 22:30 bulletin in 2004. News at Ten was properly reinstated to the ITV schedule in January 2008, initially for four nights a week before returning to its original Monday-to-Friday slot in March 2009. The current newscasters are Mark Austin and Julie Etchingham
.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas 2011, the Friday edition of the programme was moved to 22:30, making way for extended entertainment programmes.
, that the company should have the right to produce at least one news bulletin of substantial length; the 14-minute bulletin, he insisted, was not long enough to adequately cover news stories. In early 1967 the wish was finally granted, and a reluctant ITV agreed to go ahead - but persuaded ITN and the ITA to give the programme a 13-week trial, expecting the experiment to be a failure.
The aim of the extended programme was to "remove the spin and bringing facts and the news as it really was". News at Ten began broadcasting on 3 July 1967 under the leadership of Cox and a newscasting team including Alastair Burnet, Andrew Gardner
and Reginald Bosanquet
. It was not plain-sailing to begin with; the simple "lack of news" meant that the first week of News at Ten bulletins went badly, and ITV wanted to axe the programme. However, in time, the bulletin managed to increase its viewership to a regular seven million a night, and ITV were forced to keep the programme. It became a popular bulletin particularly with those arriving home in the late evening, and provided in-depth reports of the stories of the day. It is believed that News at Ten was one of the first news programmes to create the 'reporter package', which saw for the first time reporters recording their commentary with the film later edited to fit their speech.
Throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s, News at Ten managed to encompass a regular team of famous and well-known newscasters including Alastair Burnet, Sandy Gall
, Reginald Bosanquet
, Anna Ford
, Selina Scott
, Carol Barnes
, Pamela Armstrong
, Alastair Stewart
, and Trevor McDonald
. This familiarity and popularity meant that News at Ten became one of the most recognisable and well-known news programmes in Britain; it consistently received higher audience figures than the BBC's late evening Nine O'Clock News.
Chief News at Ten presenter Alastair Burnet retired from ITN in 1991, at which point plans were made for News at Ten to relaunch. For the first time, the theme music - a piece of library music composed by Johnny Pearson
entitled The Awakening - was re-recorded and re-arranged, by composer Dave Hewson, this time in a higher key. A new studio was made for the programme, and the change was made from two newscasters to one. Alastair Stewart
and Julia Somerville
were among those being considered to anchor the bulletin, but their ITN colleague Trevor McDonald
won the role, and subsequently became one of the most popular and well-known newscasters in Britain. McDonald presented News at Ten from November 1992 until March 1999.
stepped in. The ITC, taking into account the programming ITV had put in the former News at Ten slot (as well as the public anger at the move of the bulletin), ordered that ITV reinstated the late evening news in its original slot. ITV agreed, on the condition that it would run at 10pm for a minimum of three nights a week, and at shorter length. It was at this point that Director-General of the BBC
Greg Dyke
announced that the long-running BBC Nine O'Clock News
would move to 22:00 to provide a head-to-head clash with ITN. Though much publicity surrounded this move, the BBC Ten O'Clock News (or, since April 2008, the BBC News at Ten) did not manage to topple ITN's audience; the BBC received 5m with their new bulletin, whilst ITV's 22:00 return in January 2001 received 8m.
The ITV Nightly News had only been 20 minutes long and this remained the case for the ITV News at Ten. Unusually, the regional news remained at 23:20 for some time although it was later amalgamated with News at Ten, causing the news segment to become 30 minutes. Another unusual aspect of the revived programme - and ultimately the downfall for this second incarnation - was its scheduling. It only ran from Monday to Thursday, with the Friday edition remaining at 23:00 as the ITV Weekend News. Viewers gradually switched to the BBC's offering for the simple reason that the BBC bulletin started, as the old ITN News at Ten had done, at precisely 22:00. ITV on the other hand did not, despite the reinstated News at Ten being billed as starting at 22:00. Often the ITV News at Ten was delayed for 15 to 30 minutes to allow for other programming such as films, drama or football. This uncertainty, as well as starting times that ranged from 21:58 to 22:15 led the programme to be dubbed News at When? by some of its critics.
It was announced late in 2003 that the ITV News at Ten would be axed for a second time due to poor ratings against the BBC Ten O'Clock News programme. On 2 February 2004, the ITV News at 10.30
was introduced, again anchored by McDonald, who retired from ITN on 15 December 2005. The bulletin was latterly re-launched and anchored by Mark Austin.
chairman Michael Grade
, on Wednesday 31 October 2007, confirmed plans to reintroduce News at Ten, announcing that the bulletin would be restored to its traditional slot in early 2008. News at Ten returned on 14 January 2008, broadcasting Monday to Thursday, with The Late News airing on Fridays at 11pm. In addition, ITN re-introduced the double-headed presentation associated with News at Ten during its first two decades; the revived programme saw the temporary return of Trevor McDonald, presenting with Julie Etchingham
, who joined the organisation from Sky News
. Mark Austin alternated with McDonald to present News at Ten with Etchingham.
It was confirmed on 30 October 2008 that McDonald was to depart from News at Ten the next month, leaving "on a high note" after presenting the programme's US election coverage from Washington. McDonald continued to be a part of the ITV schedules, fronting documentaries and taking part in special editions of the Tonight
programme. Mark Austin took over from McDonald in November 2008, continuing to co-present the ITV Evening News for some time.
On 25 February 2009, ITV announced that News at Ten would begin to air on Friday nights from 13 March (replacing the 23:00 The Late News bulletin), in order to give the programme a "consistent home at the heart of the schedule". It was also suggested that the bulletin would now be airing five nights instead of four due to a rise in ratings and the success of the pairing of the programme's newscasters.
Ratings have been steady for the programme since its 2008 return, settling at 2.5 million though often rising to over 3 million viewers. News at Ten was watched by 3.8m on the relaunch date in 2008, compared to the BBC's 4.9m, though ITV insisted that they were pleased with the figures. On 27 February 2008, News at Ten received 4.3m; the BBC News at 10 was delayed by 40 minutes due to an FA Cup replay, gaining 3.6m. On 2 February 2009, due to severe weather conditions which saw heavy snow in Britain, television news bulletins across the terrestrial channels saw an increase in ratings; News at Ten gained 4.8m viewers. The week of 25 - 29 May 2009 saw News at Ten gaining a huge increase in ratings, on the back of the Britain's Got Talent
semi-final programmes which aired that week; on 26 May, News at Ten received 6.1m in comparison to 4.1m for the BBC News at 10, but a ten-minute delay on 27 May (due to ITV football coverage) resulted in 2.4m. 28 May saw News at Ten gaining its highest audience figures since 2003, with a 6.4m strong audience tuning in; the BBC News at 10 received just less than half of that figure - 3.6m.
In August 2009, it was announced that after 16 years co-hosting London Tonight
, Alastair Stewart was to leave the regional magazine programme to become main co-anchor of the ITV News at 6:30. Mark Austin, up until that point the main newscaster of both the 18:30 and 22:00 bulletins, was formally installed as the main male newscaster for News at Ten - ITV's main news bulletin - but continued to present the ITV News at 6:30 on occasion.
clock tower from the opening sequence of News at Ten; ITV executives felt, after "months of deliberation", that the imagery of the landmark promoted London-centricity to viewers outside the capital. Elements of the clockface remain in the studio backdrop, title sequence and graphics, and the famous bongs have also been retained in the headline sequence. The revamp, which saw the end of individual branding for News at Ten and a realignment with the other bulletins on ITV (becoming the ITV News at Ten), included a newly-designed rectangular set, new music and graphics, and a new colour scheme of black and gold to complement the ITV image and branding. The ITV News revamp has been developed by ITN, ITV and design agency Bruce Dunlop & Associates.
Recognition for the bulletin has been steady since the November realignment, but ratings have decreased slightly.
. Since 1995, The Awakening, in various arrangements, has been used as the theme for all ITV News
programmes. A longer version of the music was used during the opening credit sequence (involving a cyclone) at the start of the film Journey Back to Oz
. It was also used for some of the action sequences for the film Five Bloody Graves, and as the theme tune for the fictional political discussion programme Capital Beat on the Warner Bros. Television show The West Wing. The 2008 News at Ten theme package, composed by Dave Hewson, was based on various musical arrangements used for the bulletin between 1967 and 1999. Since 1992, Hewson has composed all theme packages for ITN's ITV bulletins (the first project Hewson worked on for ITN was News at Ten), most of them based on Pearson's The Awakening music.
The history of the News at Ten music is displayed in the official 1999 book released by ITN, which incorrectly refers to the title music as Arabesque, the name of the suite of music, of which The Awakening is the last piece:
News at Tens opening sequence consisted of a chime of Big Ben (commonly referred to as a "bong") and a newscaster reading out a headline about the main news story of the day; this was followed by the title sequence—a computer-generated travel across night-time London, passing London landmarks such as the Canary Wharf
and the London Eye
, before zooming in on the "Big Ben" clockface on the Westminster Clock Tower
showing the time of 22:00; between further chimes, headlines were read out by each newscaster; following the headlines, a camera panned across the studio, passing a VR "glass screen" with the News at Ten logo emblazoned on it and swooping past the newscasters at the desk. (The jib
camera pan across the studio at the start of ITV News bulletins were pre-recorded 10 to 15 minutes before transmission. This was because it is an especially difficult shot to achieve and cannot be done if other studio cameras are already in place.)
The current title sequence, used on all ITV News bulletins, features a camera pan past five clear glass panels, each featuring a picture related to the news of the day. The title music retains orchestral features but also incorporates a modern drum backing. The famous elements of The Awakening remain in the new music.
. The bulletin was up against its ITN rival Channel 4 News
and the twice-nominated Sky News
.
In September 2009, after the success of its BAFTA win, News at Ten won the News Coverage award at the International Emmy awards ceremony.
In December 2009, the ITV News at Ten won an award for Best National Television Programme at the Plain English Awards, and on 6 June 2010, the programme won the News Coverage BAFTA for the second year running for their coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
.
In February 2011, the programme won News Programme of the Year at the RTS Television Journalism Awards.
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
programme on British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox
Geoffrey Cox (journalist)
Sir Geoffrey Sandford Cox, CNZM, CBE was a New Zealand-born newspaper and television journalist. He was a former editor and chief executive of ITN and a founder of News at Ten....
in 1967. It was originally planned as a thirteen week project in July 1967 because senior figures at ITV refused to believe that a permanent 30-minute late night news bulletin would be welcomed by viewers. However, the bulletin proved to be very popular with audiences and it remained a fixture of the ITV schedule.
News at Ten popularised some of the most well-known faces in television news, among them Alastair Burnet
Alastair Burnet
Sir Alastair Burnet is a British journalist and broadcaster, known for his work in news and current affairs programmes.- Early life :...
, Sandy Gall
Sandy Gall
Henderson Alexander Gall, CMG, CBE , known as Sandy Gall, is a Scottish journalist, author, and former ITN news presenter. His career as a journalist spans over 50 years.-Education:...
, Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet...
, Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
, Carol Barnes
Carol Barnes
Carol Lesley Barnes was a British television newsreader and broadcaster. She worked for ITN from 1975 to 2004.-Early life:...
and Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
, and the familiarity of the close-knit team of reporters and newscasters at ITN meant that when it was initially axed by ITV in March 1999, to make way for entertainment programming, there was a public outcry. The bulletin made a short-lived return in 2001, before being replaced with a 22:30 bulletin in 2004. News at Ten was properly reinstated to the ITV schedule in January 2008, initially for four nights a week before returning to its original Monday-to-Friday slot in March 2009. The current newscasters are Mark Austin and Julie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham is an English television newsreader and journalist. She is currently co-presenter of ITV News at Ten and is the presenter of the current affairs programme Tonight, having replaced Sir Trevor McDonald....
.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas 2011, the Friday edition of the programme was moved to 22:30, making way for extended entertainment programmes.
1967 to 1999: the original run
ITN had been providing regular news updates to ITV since September 1955, with the main programme being a 14-minute effort titled Late Night News, which was broadcast at any time during the evening. Since his arrival at ITN in 1956, editor Geoffrey Cox had argued consistently to the regulatory body, the Independent Television AuthorityIndependent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
, that the company should have the right to produce at least one news bulletin of substantial length; the 14-minute bulletin, he insisted, was not long enough to adequately cover news stories. In early 1967 the wish was finally granted, and a reluctant ITV agreed to go ahead - but persuaded ITN and the ITA to give the programme a 13-week trial, expecting the experiment to be a failure.
The aim of the extended programme was to "remove the spin and bringing facts and the news as it really was". News at Ten began broadcasting on 3 July 1967 under the leadership of Cox and a newscasting team including Alastair Burnet, Andrew Gardner
Andrew Gardner (newsreader)
Andrew Gardner was a newscaster on Independent Television News in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1977. He was also one of the original presenters of News at Ten when it began in 1967....
and Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet...
. It was not plain-sailing to begin with; the simple "lack of news" meant that the first week of News at Ten bulletins went badly, and ITV wanted to axe the programme. However, in time, the bulletin managed to increase its viewership to a regular seven million a night, and ITV were forced to keep the programme. It became a popular bulletin particularly with those arriving home in the late evening, and provided in-depth reports of the stories of the day. It is believed that News at Ten was one of the first news programmes to create the 'reporter package', which saw for the first time reporters recording their commentary with the film later edited to fit their speech.
Throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s, News at Ten managed to encompass a regular team of famous and well-known newscasters including Alastair Burnet, Sandy Gall
Sandy Gall
Henderson Alexander Gall, CMG, CBE , known as Sandy Gall, is a Scottish journalist, author, and former ITN news presenter. His career as a journalist spans over 50 years.-Education:...
, Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet...
, Anna Ford
Anna Ford
Anna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader....
, Selina Scott
Selina Scott
Selina Scott is a British newsreader, journalist, television producer and presenter.- Background and early life :Scott was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire in 1951, the eldest of five children...
, Carol Barnes
Carol Barnes
Carol Lesley Barnes was a British television newsreader and broadcaster. She worked for ITN from 1975 to 2004.-Early life:...
, Pamela Armstrong
Pamela Armstrong
Pamela Armstrong is a former British television personality. She was educated in Sarawak, Indonesia and Britain....
, Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
, and Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
. This familiarity and popularity meant that News at Ten became one of the most recognisable and well-known news programmes in Britain; it consistently received higher audience figures than the BBC's late evening Nine O'Clock News.
Johnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist...
entitled The Awakening - was re-recorded and re-arranged, by composer Dave Hewson, this time in a higher key. A new studio was made for the programme, and the change was made from two newscasters to one. Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
and Julia Somerville
Julia Somerville
Julia Mary Fownes Somerville is a British television news anchor and reporter, who has worked for the BBC and ITN.-Education:...
were among those being considered to anchor the bulletin, but their ITN colleague Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
won the role, and subsequently became one of the most popular and well-known newscasters in Britain. McDonald presented News at Ten from November 1992 until March 1999.
2001 to 2004: the second incarnation
After much debate and controversy, News at Ten was axed in March 1999 to allow the uninterrupted broadcast of dramas and films on the ITV network. The ITN flagship news programme role replacing News at Ten (and in turn the 17:40 Early Evening News) was the 18:30 ITV Evening News, which was now presented by Trevor McDonald; also introduced was a late-night ITV Nightly News programme at 23:00 (a one-minute news summary in the former News at Ten slot bridged the lengthy gap between the 18:30 and the 23:00 news programmes). However, viewing figures for ITN bulletins on ITV had decreased by a significant amount by 2000, and the Independent Television CommissionIndependent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
stepped in. The ITC, taking into account the programming ITV had put in the former News at Ten slot (as well as the public anger at the move of the bulletin), ordered that ITV reinstated the late evening news in its original slot. ITV agreed, on the condition that it would run at 10pm for a minimum of three nights a week, and at shorter length. It was at this point that Director-General of the BBC
Director-General of the BBC
The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC.The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
announced that the long-running BBC Nine O'Clock News
BBC Nine O'Clock News
The BBC Nine O'Clock News was the flagship BBC News programme launched on 14 September 1970, which ran until 15 October 2000, when it was controversially moved to BBC News at Ten....
would move to 22:00 to provide a head-to-head clash with ITN. Though much publicity surrounded this move, the BBC Ten O'Clock News (or, since April 2008, the BBC News at Ten) did not manage to topple ITN's audience; the BBC received 5m with their new bulletin, whilst ITV's 22:00 return in January 2001 received 8m.
The ITV Nightly News had only been 20 minutes long and this remained the case for the ITV News at Ten. Unusually, the regional news remained at 23:20 for some time although it was later amalgamated with News at Ten, causing the news segment to become 30 minutes. Another unusual aspect of the revived programme - and ultimately the downfall for this second incarnation - was its scheduling. It only ran from Monday to Thursday, with the Friday edition remaining at 23:00 as the ITV Weekend News. Viewers gradually switched to the BBC's offering for the simple reason that the BBC bulletin started, as the old ITN News at Ten had done, at precisely 22:00. ITV on the other hand did not, despite the reinstated News at Ten being billed as starting at 22:00. Often the ITV News at Ten was delayed for 15 to 30 minutes to allow for other programming such as films, drama or football. This uncertainty, as well as starting times that ranged from 21:58 to 22:15 led the programme to be dubbed News at When? by some of its critics.
It was announced late in 2003 that the ITV News at Ten would be axed for a second time due to poor ratings against the BBC Ten O'Clock News programme. On 2 February 2004, the ITV News at 10.30
ITV News at 10.30
The ITV News at 10.30 was the flagship news programme on British television network ITV, airing Monday to Friday at 10.30pm. It was produced by ITN...
was introduced, again anchored by McDonald, who retired from ITN on 15 December 2005. The bulletin was latterly re-launched and anchored by Mark Austin.
2008 to 2009: the third incarnation
ITV plcITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
chairman Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
, on Wednesday 31 October 2007, confirmed plans to reintroduce News at Ten, announcing that the bulletin would be restored to its traditional slot in early 2008. News at Ten returned on 14 January 2008, broadcasting Monday to Thursday, with The Late News airing on Fridays at 11pm. In addition, ITN re-introduced the double-headed presentation associated with News at Ten during its first two decades; the revived programme saw the temporary return of Trevor McDonald, presenting with Julie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham is an English television newsreader and journalist. She is currently co-presenter of ITV News at Ten and is the presenter of the current affairs programme Tonight, having replaced Sir Trevor McDonald....
, who joined the organisation from Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. Mark Austin alternated with McDonald to present News at Ten with Etchingham.
It was confirmed on 30 October 2008 that McDonald was to depart from News at Ten the next month, leaving "on a high note" after presenting the programme's US election coverage from Washington. McDonald continued to be a part of the ITV schedules, fronting documentaries and taking part in special editions of the Tonight
Tonight (TV series)
Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...
programme. Mark Austin took over from McDonald in November 2008, continuing to co-present the ITV Evening News for some time.
On 25 February 2009, ITV announced that News at Ten would begin to air on Friday nights from 13 March (replacing the 23:00 The Late News bulletin), in order to give the programme a "consistent home at the heart of the schedule". It was also suggested that the bulletin would now be airing five nights instead of four due to a rise in ratings and the success of the pairing of the programme's newscasters.
Ratings have been steady for the programme since its 2008 return, settling at 2.5 million though often rising to over 3 million viewers. News at Ten was watched by 3.8m on the relaunch date in 2008, compared to the BBC's 4.9m, though ITV insisted that they were pleased with the figures. On 27 February 2008, News at Ten received 4.3m; the BBC News at 10 was delayed by 40 minutes due to an FA Cup replay, gaining 3.6m. On 2 February 2009, due to severe weather conditions which saw heavy snow in Britain, television news bulletins across the terrestrial channels saw an increase in ratings; News at Ten gained 4.8m viewers. The week of 25 - 29 May 2009 saw News at Ten gaining a huge increase in ratings, on the back of the Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
semi-final programmes which aired that week; on 26 May, News at Ten received 6.1m in comparison to 4.1m for the BBC News at 10, but a ten-minute delay on 27 May (due to ITV football coverage) resulted in 2.4m. 28 May saw News at Ten gaining its highest audience figures since 2003, with a 6.4m strong audience tuning in; the BBC News at 10 received just less than half of that figure - 3.6m.
In August 2009, it was announced that after 16 years co-hosting London Tonight
London Tonight
London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
, Alastair Stewart was to leave the regional magazine programme to become main co-anchor of the ITV News at 6:30. Mark Austin, up until that point the main newscaster of both the 18:30 and 22:00 bulletins, was formally installed as the main male newscaster for News at Ten - ITV's main news bulletin - but continued to present the ITV News at 6:30 on occasion.
2009 to present: removal of 'Big Ben' branding
On 22 October 2009, it was jointly announced by ITN and ITV that ITV News would be rebranded from 2 November. At the heart of the revamp was the removal of the famous image of the Big BenClock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
clock tower from the opening sequence of News at Ten; ITV executives felt, after "months of deliberation", that the imagery of the landmark promoted London-centricity to viewers outside the capital. Elements of the clockface remain in the studio backdrop, title sequence and graphics, and the famous bongs have also been retained in the headline sequence. The revamp, which saw the end of individual branding for News at Ten and a realignment with the other bulletins on ITV (becoming the ITV News at Ten), included a newly-designed rectangular set, new music and graphics, and a new colour scheme of black and gold to complement the ITV image and branding. The ITV News revamp has been developed by ITN, ITV and design agency Bruce Dunlop & Associates.
Recognition for the bulletin has been steady since the November realignment, but ratings have decreased slightly.
Theme music and opening sequence
From January 2008 to November 2009, News at Ten used a different title sequence and music from other ITV News programmes. The theme music was a re-recording of an excerpt from The Awakening, a piece of library music composed by Johnny PearsonJohnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist...
. Since 1995, The Awakening, in various arrangements, has been used as the theme for all ITV News
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...
programmes. A longer version of the music was used during the opening credit sequence (involving a cyclone) at the start of the film Journey Back to Oz
Journey Back to Oz
Journey Back To Oz is a 1974 animated film and the official sequel to the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. It is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's second Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, although Baum received no screen credit. However, the Wizard was nowhere to be found, at least in the...
. It was also used for some of the action sequences for the film Five Bloody Graves, and as the theme tune for the fictional political discussion programme Capital Beat on the Warner Bros. Television show The West Wing. The 2008 News at Ten theme package, composed by Dave Hewson, was based on various musical arrangements used for the bulletin between 1967 and 1999. Since 1992, Hewson has composed all theme packages for ITN's ITV bulletins (the first project Hewson worked on for ITN was News at Ten), most of them based on Pearson's The Awakening music.
The history of the News at Ten music is displayed in the official 1999 book released by ITN, which incorrectly refers to the title music as Arabesque, the name of the suite of music, of which The Awakening is the last piece:
News at Tens opening sequence consisted of a chime of Big Ben (commonly referred to as a "bong") and a newscaster reading out a headline about the main news story of the day; this was followed by the title sequence—a computer-generated travel across night-time London, passing London landmarks such as the Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
and the London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
, before zooming in on the "Big Ben" clockface on the Westminster Clock Tower
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
showing the time of 22:00; between further chimes, headlines were read out by each newscaster; following the headlines, a camera panned across the studio, passing a VR "glass screen" with the News at Ten logo emblazoned on it and swooping past the newscasters at the desk. (The jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
camera pan across the studio at the start of ITV News bulletins were pre-recorded 10 to 15 minutes before transmission. This was because it is an especially difficult shot to achieve and cannot be done if other studio cameras are already in place.)
The current title sequence, used on all ITV News bulletins, features a camera pan past five clear glass panels, each featuring a picture related to the news of the day. The title music retains orchestral features but also incorporates a modern drum backing. The famous elements of The Awakening remain in the new music.
Awards
On 26 April 2009, News at Ten won a BAFTA in the category News Coverage at the BAFTA Television Awards 2009, for their coverage of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake2008 Sichuan earthquake
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Msand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST...
. The bulletin was up against its ITN rival Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
and the twice-nominated Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
.
In September 2009, after the success of its BAFTA win, News at Ten won the News Coverage award at the International Emmy awards ceremony.
In December 2009, the ITV News at Ten won an award for Best National Television Programme at the Plain English Awards, and on 6 June 2010, the programme won the News Coverage BAFTA for the second year running for their coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
.
In February 2011, the programme won News Programme of the Year at the RTS Television Journalism Awards.
Main newscasters
| Years | Newscaster | Other roles |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–present | Mark Austin | |
| 2008–present | Julie Etchingham Julie Etchingham Julie Etchingham is an English television newsreader and journalist. She is currently co-presenter of ITV News at Ten and is the presenter of the current affairs programme Tonight, having replaced Sir Trevor McDonald.... |
Tonight Tonight (TV series) Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action... presenter |
Relief newscasters
| Years | Newscaster | Other roles |
|---|---|---|
| 2011–present | Andrea Benfield Andrea Benfield Andrea Benfield , is an English journalist, currently working with ITV.Benfield is engaged to Wales rugby player Lee Byrne.-Early life:... |
Wales Tonight Wales Tonight Wales Tonight is a national television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Wales at its studios in the western outskirts of Cardiff.... newscaster |
| 2009–present | Nina Hossain Nina Hossain Nina Hossain is a British journalist, presenter and newscaster.Hossain is currently employed on a freelance basis by ITN where she is the main presenter of ITV London's regional news programme London Tonight. Nina also acts as a relief newscaster for ITV News.-Background:Hossain was born in... |
London Tonight London Tonight London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses... newscaster |
| 2011–2012 | Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky is a British newsreader and television presenter, currently employed by ITV having previously worked for Channel 5, Sky News and the BBC... |
|
| 2008–present | James Mates James Mates James Mates is a British newsreader and journalist.Mates is currently employed by ITN where he presents on ITV News whilst also being senior correspondent.-Personal life:James Mates is the son of Conservative party politician Michael Mates... |
Senior Correspondent |
| 2008–present | Mary Nightingale Mary Nightingale Mary Nightingale is an English newsreader and television presenter. She is a newsreader for ITN on ITV News, and presents the cookery series Britain's Best Dish on ITV1.-Education:... |
ITV News at 6:30 newscaster |
| 2009–present | Alastair Stewart Alastair Stewart Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:... |
ITV News at 1:30 and ITV News at 6:30 newscaster |
Former newscasters
| Years | Newscaster | Role | Other roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–1974; 1976–1991 | Alastair Burnet Alastair Burnet Sir Alastair Burnet is a British journalist and broadcaster, known for his work in news and current affairs programmes.- Early life :... |
Main newscaster | ITN royal commentator |
| 1967–1977 | Andrew Gardner Andrew Gardner (newsreader) Andrew Gardner was a newscaster on Independent Television News in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1977. He was also one of the original presenters of News at Ten when it began in 1967.... |
Main newscaster | |
| 1967 | George Ffitch | Main newscaster | |
| 1967–1977 | Reginald Bosanquet Reginald Bosanquet Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1967–1977 | Gordon Honeycombe Gordon Honeycombe Ronald Gordon Honeycombe is an author, playwright and stage actor, well known in the United Kingdom as a national television newscaster.... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1972–1992 | Sandy Gall Sandy Gall Henderson Alexander Gall, CMG, CBE , known as Sandy Gall, is a Scottish journalist, author, and former ITN news presenter. His career as a journalist spans over 50 years.-Education:... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1977–1980 | Anna Ford Anna Ford Anna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader.... |
Main newscaster | |
| 1986–2005; 2008 | Trevor McDonald Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN... |
Main newscaster | |
| 1970–1987 | Leonard Parkin Leonard Parkin Leonard Parkin, Leonard Parkin, Leonard Parkin, (2 June 1929 - 20 September 1993 in Thurnscoe, Yorkshire, England, was a British TV journalist and newscaster who worked for both the BBC and ITN.He was educated at Hemsworth Grammar School, Yorkshire... |
Relief newscaster | News at One newscaster |
| 1980–1986 | Martyn Lewis Martyn Lewis (journalist) Martyn Lewis CBE is a British television news presenter and journalist.-Early life:Lewis was born in Swansea, West Glamorgan, though was educated at the co-educational Dalriada School in Northern Ireland and graduated with a BA degree from Trinity College, Dublin. He then joined BBC Northern... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1980–1982 | Selina Scott Selina Scott Selina Scott is a British newsreader, journalist, television producer and presenter.- Background and early life :Scott was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire in 1951, the eldest of five children... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1984–1987 | Pamela Armstrong Pamela Armstrong Pamela Armstrong is a former British television personality. She was educated in Sarawak, Indonesia and Britain.... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1985–2004 | John Suchet John Suchet John Suchet is a British news reader and television presenter.Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is David Suchet, a British actor. His father was Jack Suchet, who emigrated to England from South Africa in 1932, and trained to be a doctor at St Mary's Hospital, London... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1985–1992 | Carol Barnes Carol Barnes Carol Lesley Barnes was a British television newsreader and broadcaster. She worked for ITN from 1975 to 2004.-Early life:... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1990–1999 | Julia Somerville Julia Somerville Julia Mary Fownes Somerville is a British television news anchor and reporter, who has worked for the BBC and ITN.-Education:... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 1992–2001 | Dermot Murnaghan Dermot Murnaghan Dermot Murnaghan is a British journalist and television presenter.He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News as well as the shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt . He co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins... |
Relief newscaster | Lunchtime News and ITV Nightly News ITV Nightly News ITV Nightly News was a newscast broadcast between 8 March 1999 - 1 February 2004 as a replacement for ITV News at Ten. It aired on ITV, daily at 11:00pm, and was broadcast from the ITN studios in London... newscaster |
| 2001–2002 | Kirsty Young Kirsty Young Kirsty Jackson Young is a Scottish television presenter and radio presenter. She is the main presenter of Crimewatch and Desert Island Discs. She is married to millionaire club owner Nick Jones.- Career :... |
Relief newscaster | |
| 2008–2010 | Katie Derham Katie Derham Katie Derham is a British newscaster and a presenter on television and radio.-Early life:Derham was born in Stockport to John and Margaret Derham, and grew up in Wilmslow... |
Relief newscaster | ITV News at 1:30 and London Tonight London Tonight London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses... newscaster |
| 2010 | Romilly Weeks Romilly Weeks Romilly Saran Weeks is a British newsreader and journalist.Weeks is currently employed by ITN for ITV News.-Media career:After a career in acting, Weeks went into broadcasting journalism. Now an experienced presenter and journalist, she has covered events all round the world for ITN... |
Relief newscaster | News Correspondent |