JosephB's posts

5 News

Because obviously the presenters have nothing to do with the presentation. Hence the stems of the two words are totally different.

ITV News: Rotas & Presenters

News at Ten:

Main Presenters - Mark Austin; Julie Etchingham
Relief - Alastair Stewart; Mary Nightingale; James Mates; Nina Hossain

Evening News:

Main Presenters - Alastair Stewart; Mary Nightingale
Relief - Mark Austin; Julie Etchingham; Steve Scott; Nina Hossain

Lunchtime News:

Main Presenter - Emma Crosby
Relief - Nina Hossain; Steve Scott

Weekend News:

Main Presenter - Nina Hossain
Relief - James Mates; Steve Scott; Someone from the Regions getting a break

Morning News:

Main Presenter - Faye Barker
Relief - Charlene White; Sangeeta Kandola; Steve Clamp; Jackie Kabler

To put this all into context, it's worth mentioning that the following should also be the case:

London Tonight:

Main Presenters - Matt Teale; Alexandra Hill
Relief - Ben Scotchbrook; Nina Hossain; Steve Clamp; Charlene White

That's how it should be.

ITV News

I disagree. "And now back to Alastair in the studio with the rest of today's news" is a waste of words.

ITV London Tonight

What the **** is happening with this programme? Just a few weeks ago we had presenter combinations comprising of Alastair, Katie, Alex and Ben, all competent, friendly, engaging and, in Alastair's case particularly, excellent newsreaders. I'm willing to give Matt Teale a chance in his new role and believe he too can be added to that list eventually, but while in the early stages he needs a competent, friendly, engaging and experienced co-presenter.

So why the hell am I witnessing Matt Teale and Lucy Cotter presenting the programme for the second, possibly third, time this week?! I've said it before and don't want to be seen to have a personal vendetta against the girl because she's clearly a lovely person but she simply isn't up to the job of presenting the capital's flagship news programme. What makes it EVEN more frustrating is that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why Alex Hyndman can't do it instead.

The bosses need to understand that if they want to keep the viewers then the gravitas needs to stay, losing Alastair is a big enough blow, so putting people like Lucy Cotter on while Alex Hyndman is probably bored playing with her nails at home is a real mistake.

Sky News

Why is it bizarre? She's a rising star, the best new newsreader in a long time and, with the exception of Kay Burley, Sky's best female presenter. Give her a permanent slot.

ITV London Tonight

If that's true then that's a great shame. Alastair and Alex were a great partnership, and therefore to lose both from the programme will be a blow to the programme. I'm exicted about the new guy and will give him a fair shot, Ben's fine as a stand in, and Katie's great, however Lucy Cotter as a stand in (and to be honest, even as a reporter) is cringeworthy television. It's like watching your baby sister on the TV because she's won a day in the studio thanks to a competition she entered on the back of her Coco Pops packet. She's clearly a lovely girl, but she's too light even for a local news programme.

ITV News

Just to point out the strength of ITV's political coverage; when Nick Robinson left and Tom Bradby took over, and when Daisy McAndrew took over from John Ray as senior political correspondent, the quality of coverage dropped significantly. I still don't really rate Daisy McAndrew, however she is obviously reporting on economics now. However, Tom Bradby has come on leaps and bounds over the last few months, and Chris Ship is, I believe, one of ITV's finest and rising stars. Quality reporting is also coming from Alex Forrest and Lucy Manning. Meanwhile, since Robinson moved to the BBC he has begun to lose his way slightly.

News at Ten - Weeknights on ITV1

Jesus Christ, how are ITV going to sustain even a quarter of their audience next week if the best they can come up with is Supersize Teens, Ladette to Lady, Cops with Cameras and a repeat of Taggart?!

Sky News

Yes, she is.

ITV London Tonight

She hasn't actually though, has she Martin?

Lucy Cotter comes across as the sweetest, nicest person you could ever meet. However, she lacks the necessary authority and experience to present the main London Tonight programme, let alone other bulletins. I don't really rate her reporting either, not a patch on Steve Hargrave, who was witty, came across as though he was a friend of the people he was interviewing, and seemed knowledegable about what he was reporting about. Lucy's reports just feel like all the information has been wikipedia'd in the hours before.

Nick Wallis has done a better job on the occasions he has done entertainment reporting.

ITV News

I'm pretty sure that if Steve were offered the Evening News permanently, his "commitments" to ITV West could come to an end. Shame he probably won't be offered it, though.

And yes, Geraint Vincent - excellent reporter. Getting better as a presenter, but not on par with any of his colleagues.

ITV News

That, or give it to Steve Scott. He's one of ITV News's finest.