Responsible programming
Independent reporting
ITV makes news accessible and relevant to a wide audience. The reach of ITV News exceeds all newspapers and nearly all other television news programmes. It is therefore a major guide to world and national events for many people and helps inform public opinion.
ITV News
ITV News has global reach with offices in London, Bangkok, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Moscow and Washington.
ITV has a budget of £100 million for production of national and regional news programmes. During 2004, we re-launched ITV News with the groundbreaking Theatre of News format. This graphic presentation enables visual breakdowns of complex stories and makes news items more accessible to a wider audience. It is also more distinctive, standing apart from any other news service and ensuring that ITV News offers real choice to viewers in the competitive arena of the 24-hour news environment.
ITV broadcasts three main news bulletins a day, the ITV Lunchtime News, ITV Evening News and the ITV News at 10.30 pm. We interrupt the schedule with important breaking stories and can react to breaking news 24 hours a day. Under its Ofcom licence, ITV is required to broadcast 365 hours of news programming a year. In 2004, we actually broadcast 392 hours.
ITV demonstrated its commitment to independent, serious reporting by being regularly at the forefront of the biggest news stories of the year from the occupation of Iraq to the tsunami disaster. During the Beslan siege, ITV reporter, Julian Manyon, was first in the school at the tragic climax of events where he commented live on the devastation in a report that was picked up by news services around the world.
When the devastating tsunami hit South Asia on Boxing Day, ITV News was the first UK network to broadcast an in-depth special report which was seen by 5.7 million viewers. Our coverage, including national and regional news bulletins, first-hand and special reports and news on fundraising efforts, received very high ratings and was widely commended in the press. ITV also donated airtime for disaster relief fundraising appeals.
The ITV News Channel, our free-to-view 24-hour digital news channel, works with ITN to produce around the clock coverage of important events. A good example of this relationship was our coverage of 2004's local elections during which ITV News had more reporters live at more counts than any other UK news service.
News items, by their nature, can contain distressing images. When selecting and editing footage our editors take into account the age-range of the audience viewing a particular bulletin. We also tailor stories to be relevant to the changing demographics of the audience at different times. For example, a story on the Evening News, when more children and families are watching, might be treated from a consumer or health point of view. On the 10.30 News, the same story might focus on a business perspective.
No news story divided the world and the public in 2004 like the occupation of Iraq. Our journalists and editors strived to treat these issues independently and impartially, representing every side of the story. Great sensitivity is required when reporting shocking stories such as suicide-bombings, prisoner abuse and the execution of foreign hostages. The Royal Television Society awarded ITV News the Best News (International) award for John Irvine's report, Welcome to Baghdad.
Regional news
Through its regional stations, ITV provides local news across the country, reporting stories of particular relevance to local communities. Our local news teams also provide a network of regional news departments that work cooperatively with ITN to give local focus to major news stories. An example of this journalistic teamwork was our special report on binge-drinking in the UK. It brought together a snapshot of drinking culture from 15 British towns on one night, filmed by regional news and broadcast to a network audience.
Our regional stations also initiate their own investigative journalism.
For example, in 2004, ITV Anglia explored the cases for and against the use of renewable energy.
Current affairs
ITV's current affairs programming is more than an extension of its news broadcasting services. It combines special investigations with in-depth coverage of topical issues for a mass audience. Our flagship current affairs series, Tonight With Trevor MacDonald, averaged 3.4 million viewers and a 15% share of the audience in 2004. Editions of the show covered important topics at home and abroad including the MRSA epidemic; the humanitarian crisis in Sudan; the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay; school admissions; discrimination against gypsy communities; the story of Caron Keating's long and unsuccessful battle against breast cancer; and an exposé of a US visa scandal that provoked a US government investigation.
Along with a roster of high-quality documentaries (see Tackling social issues), ITV exceeded its target of 78 hours of current affairs programming for 2004.