ITV News

Well the Election can be called at any time by the PM. By law it has to be held by June at the latest. The broadcasters will have to have a rough idea of what they're doing just in case he calls a snap election, as unlikely as that is.

Useful research paper on Election Timetables published last year by The House of Commons Library , gives a breakdown of each day's activities for a number of possible election dates. Page 13 covers the dates for a May poll.

I wonder if last nights powercut will be mentioned at the end of tonight`s program... doubt it thought lol

Why would it?

I have no idea I was just thinking earlier today that Mark and Julie might do something a bit like their mobile phone stint last year

God forbid . That would be seriously ill judged (and I'm sure they won't).

Well they didn't ! It wasn't Mark anyway, Alastair Instead.
Mabye if it wasn't such a sensive time - they would have done. i.e say something like " the electric didn't go tonight - thank goodness"

Also sound fail on a live right at the end there - Al & Julie had to fill for a minute or so, by reading some news about Haiti from their sheets.

Yes, they cut to Bill Neely who was mentioned as having just landed in Haiti - unfortunately all that happened was a patient Bill looking intently at the camera with Alastair trying to make contact with him...

Incidentally - it's two years to the day that News at Ten came back. I'm glad it returned and it's bedded very well into the schedule since that time (thank goodness we've seen the back of that 10pm filler era!), but... watching it lately, it feels like a bit of a different bulletin compared how it was a year ago.

Happy 2nd Birthday ITV News at Ten ! News at Ten is a better bulletin now to what it was two years ago! But i wish ITN would have let News at Ten keep its individuality

I feel it was at it's best this time last year. The focus of the bulletin was fantastic and the now axed branding only served to give the entire programme a great degree of authority.

Oh no. Once in a blue moon is just about acceptable.
I can't imagine that any of the ITN editors or producers would think making it a regular feature a good idea, (even considering doing so should be a sackable offence ).
I don't often watch the News at Ten, so didn't see the mobile phone 'sketch', but it sounds as if the only humour it may have contained would have been due to the element of surprise (and even then it was hardly another Spanish Inquisition ).


Though the presenters have to keep looking up at the camera I would have thought that reading from a printed scripted is actually easier than reading an auto-cue. I know I would find it much easier, though tonight it sounds as if Alastair and Julie had to 'fill', just using their scripts as prompts.
IMO the presenters really earn their money and demonstrate their considerable skill when they have to deal with one (or more!) reports failing, the auto-cue sticking mid story (or worse, showing the wrong part of the script) and stroppy or uncommunicative guests.

Does anybody have a video of the day that Mark Austin presented the ITV News at 1.30? I was in college that day and iv never seen him present the Lunchtime bulletin.