IT
Funnily enough, Joshua, I saw that bulletin and thought exactly the same thing. Alastair Stewart has definitely become increasingly over the top in his delivery in recent years. He also comes across as a bit smug at times, too. That said, I believe he is a thoroughly lovely person off-camera. Watching clips of him from the 80s on TV Ark reminds me that he wasn't always like this; it's definitely only happened since he returned to ITV News. Maybe it's the result of him having spent so many years on regional news in between?
I agree with you both completely. It is this kind of tackiness and "OTT" language that I'm sick to the back teeth of every time I choose to watch ITV News. And to think we all thought they were calming down the sensationalist crap a couple of years ago! The language used by newscasters and reporters over the last year has been ridiculous. I've noticed some dubious orders of news stories in bulletins lately as well, and by God do they love zooming into the presenter! It's not even subtle either, it's very noticeable and at times - as Joshua says - looks rather "comedic".
Also, has anybody else noticed that they're almost going back to the days of The Late News, with a 90-minute programme at 9pm and a generic "ITV News" at 10:30pm (or sometimes even 10:45pm)? After all that fuss they made about extending NAT to 5-nights-a-week you'd think they'd stick to it.
And while I'm on this rant (!) - every time I watch News at Ten it never begins until two minutes past. You might argue it's not much of a difference but I'm pretty sure that even a year or so ago they were bang on 22:00 every night.
Interesting observations, Nicky, and I do agree with them. I haven't watched ITV News regularly for quite a while now, specifically as a result of the editorial agenda, sensationalist scripts and OTT delivery. I generally watch BBC News or Channel 4 News now, as I find their style and journalistic quality more to my liking on the whole. Alastair Stewart used to be my favourite presenter on ITV News, especially after Trevor left. However, he's gone so OTT recently that his delivery has become comedic. He's practically a caricature. And those smug smiles he does when his co-presenter is reading a lighter story really irritate me too. I'm sure this is only a relatively recent development. I don't recall him presenting like this even a couple of years ago.
As for the timings, it's disappointing to hear that News at Ten is sometimes airing as late as 10.45 pm. As for the 10.02 pm start, I can understand that ITV want to squeeze in as many adverts as possible, but if it says it starts at 10 pm, then it should do in my opinion. Both the lunchtime and evening bulletins manage to start at 1.28 pm and 6.30 pm precisely every day, so I see no reason why NAT can't start on time too. Out of interest, how frequently did it start late in the 1980s and 90s? I do recall seeing some bulletins that started after 10 pm as the late 80s titles had the clock hand adjusted accordingly. But, how often did this happen?
itsrobert
Founding member
It really struck me this evening how sensational ITV News output has become. Not only the wording, but even the way the anchors present the programme. Natasha, and even Alastair, were very dramatic, to what can only be described as comedic affect.
Funnily enough, Joshua, I saw that bulletin and thought exactly the same thing. Alastair Stewart has definitely become increasingly over the top in his delivery in recent years. He also comes across as a bit smug at times, too. That said, I believe he is a thoroughly lovely person off-camera. Watching clips of him from the 80s on TV Ark reminds me that he wasn't always like this; it's definitely only happened since he returned to ITV News. Maybe it's the result of him having spent so many years on regional news in between?
I agree with you both completely. It is this kind of tackiness and "OTT" language that I'm sick to the back teeth of every time I choose to watch ITV News. And to think we all thought they were calming down the sensationalist crap a couple of years ago! The language used by newscasters and reporters over the last year has been ridiculous. I've noticed some dubious orders of news stories in bulletins lately as well, and by God do they love zooming into the presenter! It's not even subtle either, it's very noticeable and at times - as Joshua says - looks rather "comedic".
Also, has anybody else noticed that they're almost going back to the days of The Late News, with a 90-minute programme at 9pm and a generic "ITV News" at 10:30pm (or sometimes even 10:45pm)? After all that fuss they made about extending NAT to 5-nights-a-week you'd think they'd stick to it.
And while I'm on this rant (!) - every time I watch News at Ten it never begins until two minutes past. You might argue it's not much of a difference but I'm pretty sure that even a year or so ago they were bang on 22:00 every night.
Interesting observations, Nicky, and I do agree with them. I haven't watched ITV News regularly for quite a while now, specifically as a result of the editorial agenda, sensationalist scripts and OTT delivery. I generally watch BBC News or Channel 4 News now, as I find their style and journalistic quality more to my liking on the whole. Alastair Stewart used to be my favourite presenter on ITV News, especially after Trevor left. However, he's gone so OTT recently that his delivery has become comedic. He's practically a caricature. And those smug smiles he does when his co-presenter is reading a lighter story really irritate me too. I'm sure this is only a relatively recent development. I don't recall him presenting like this even a couple of years ago.
As for the timings, it's disappointing to hear that News at Ten is sometimes airing as late as 10.45 pm. As for the 10.02 pm start, I can understand that ITV want to squeeze in as many adverts as possible, but if it says it starts at 10 pm, then it should do in my opinion. Both the lunchtime and evening bulletins manage to start at 1.28 pm and 6.30 pm precisely every day, so I see no reason why NAT can't start on time too. Out of interest, how frequently did it start late in the 1980s and 90s? I do recall seeing some bulletins that started after 10 pm as the late 80s titles had the clock hand adjusted accordingly. But, how often did this happen?
