ITV News

I usually groan at the week-long investigations on ITV News, but I'm actually glad about this one. Zimbabweans are in dire need of help to escape the tyrannical regime of Robert Mugabe. There was a special report on BBC Newsnight last week and I was shocked by just how bad the situation is there. I think this is a cause which does deserve the media spotlight and ITV News should hopefully raise its importance on the agenda.

I'm always quite staggered by how much Africa is forgotten on the domestic news. BBC World generally gives it a good treatment, but domestic services don't. In Sudan, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed but it barely gets a look-in. This weekend was another example. BBC World was leading with the severe flooding in Africa but it didn't even get a mention on domesitc BBC News or ITV News. It does seem to be the forgotten continent. So, for once, I'm glad that ITV News is running this week-long investigation.

ITV News have always been good on highlighting Zimababwe problems.

I watched the "One World" programme on News 24 on Saturday about Zimbabwe. It was very interesting. I think we all knew how bad the situation was in the country. But I was amazed to see that Mugabe's Cronies quite openly live a luxurious lifestyle - building new mansions in the former rich white suburbs. They never seem to go short of food.

Of course, if Zimbabwe had oil reserves then Bush would have gone in and toppled Mugabe years ago; perhaps on the basis that he was growing "bananas of mass destruction".

An excellent Evening News tonight. Those reports from Zimbabwe were very moving and Mark Austin held it all together nicely. He's always better as a reporter than a studio presenter. I didn't mind the main news being pushed back to 18.45, as I think this is a worthy cause, unlike the Big Melt series, which bored me to tears.

Mark said he'll be presenting the late news tonight so they must be doing the Zimbabwe features on that bulletin as well. They didn't, however, include Zimbabwe in the Lunchtime News. That was just Alastair and Nina in the studio with the main news.

I quite agree. I tend to find that ITV News does profiles of stricken/newsworthy countries well. John Ray's focus on China a few months ago shows what ITV News is capable of, as was the reporing in Zimbabwe tonight.

As you point out the problems of Africa (especially Dafur and Zimbabwe) have been sadly overlooked of late by our TV news services, mostly in favour of "the other" story.

So yes I agree I good job by ITV News in this case.

Agreed. Great Evening News tonight, the two reports were really good as was the anchoring! The intro at the top of the programme was especially hard hitting and focused too. I like the special weeks of news every so often... like the ones they did from Antarctica, China and Iraq... and Channel 4 New's similar series' from Iran and Afghanistan.

As an expat visiting the UK (although I do have Sky - granada region but prefer watching deal or no deal at 6pm (UK)/7pm) it was fantastic to see Lucy actually presenting the National News.

If I remember correctly didn't she use to help present one of the southern news programmes before joining Granada Tonight (the name used in between the old GR anmd the present incarnation of GR) and teaming up with John Huntley - that was the best Granada presenting team. (TBH I don't watch GR nowadays due to Tony Morris' excrutiating attempt at making the local news friendly!!!).

ALthough for National News I do seem to recall that So Rahman (ex GR) was good at presenting the weekend bulletins when he was rostered to do them - shame ITV lost him to Al Jezeera.

How is it that Mugabe, originally elected on a democratic mandate after the fall of the Rhodesian regime, managed to become despotic himself?

He was originally Prime Minister. IIRC he was then elected a President, but systematically destroyed the opposition parties. Zimbabwe is still theoretically a Parliamentary Democracy. Although in effect it's a one-party state.

A new Live strap on right now.

White logo and black location strap.

I think the black strap looks quite good. I think that shows that its not always graphics that are awful, its the colour of them.

Yeah, I think you're right. Its just the colours that are wrong. They need to be toned down a bit, then the graphics would look okay I think.