Harry in Afghanistan

It was also simulcast on CNN International.

This is complete over-reaction! No criticism of Harry, he's doing the job he's paid for. A simply mention that he had been there and the information leaked was more than sufficient.

This surely qualifies ITV News for the "most pointless location report" this year. As for extending NaT...that's just laughable.

Is there any chance of either of the main channels actually giving us some real news today?

Very good programme from the Evening News tonight - though absolutely no other news at all.


ITV must have thought this would come out soon though to have Mark Austin out there.

I noticed they used the two different breakbumpers for the start / end advert break in the middle of the programme. Plus they had pictures of Harry over the closing music. Their must have just been one camera with Mark. Nina must have been annoyed, recording what is coming up the Evening News, put not presenting any of it! By that I mean reading the other news in the studio.

I thought the Evening News was very good tonight, although even a 90-second 'Other News' segment would have been a little better for those who just want some of the other days stories. I'm surprised they didn't do that actually.

Why do so many people seem to think this over-reaction is justfied? I cannot see anything newsworthy about it (other than finding out how the information was leaked, perhaps, as a minor story).

Fives coverage is/was better than ITV, and that's saying something. This isn't a major story, its important and would be lead story, but only as part of a normal programme, it doesn't warrant a "special" or "extended edition"

Brilliant report by Alex Thomson on Channel 4. ITV's Evening News was far too unquestioning of the whole wide debate of the media agreement etc, despite it being anchored excellently and having good use of the various correspondents.

The fact that its PRINCE HARRY and AFGHANISTAN together immediatly puts it top, but i dont agree with taking up the whole programmes with it, and extended News At Ten!? What possibly could we learn now.

But it isn't important!

We have thousands of armed forces personnnel in Afghanistan. By all means mention he was there....nothing more. Investigate the leak of information if they must, but that isn't really interesting or relevant when important things are happening that I would certainly prefer to know about from a national news bulletin.

Since the media knew, and have been following him, they should've just made a documentary for broadcast after he returned. I'm sure that would've satisfied those interested enough to watch.

News it certainly isn't!

Mod Edit: Unless you can prove it, don't say it.

No question in my mind about whether this is newsworthy - and like his mother, Harry sells, but it certainly shouldn't be at the expense of all other news.


What it does do though, and news organisations love this, is give a human angle to a bigger story. We know thousands of British soldiers have been fighting there, but having the personal view of the one soldier everyone in the country will recognise and have an opinion on gives it a whole new angle - whether he's royal or not. Like it or not unlike the other soldiers out in Iraq and Afghanistan, if Harry were to be killed out there it would have national consequences.


In hindsight now do we think the reporting of events in Afghanistan have been increased in recent weeks, and if so do we think that's because the events were genuinely newsworthy, or because the news organisations knew Harry was out there and wanted to re-emphasise the dangers facing the troops out there knowing this story would break in the weeks ahead?

Breaking on N24 that a Illinois shopping center may have been attacked in the US given a tiny mention, then back to Harry.