ITV London Tonight

Two Meridian packages on tonight's edition.

Total package count: 6, including two from Meridian (Mike Pearse and Andrea Thomas)

So that's only four LT reporters on the road today.

You used to get that many packages in a short weekend bulletin.

In the last year or so LT has been much newsier and quite a good watch, so this newly emaciated programme is even more jarring.

I make it three, Ria's were produced and trailed yesterday.

From @MattJF on Twitter.

A pic of ITV News and LT together in Studio 2.

http://twitter.yfrog.com/z/h0jubypj

Ten minutes in and there's a Meridian package from Holland.

It seems LT now has a new entertainment review with Lucrezia Millarini which has replaced James King's movie review. She doesn't discuss movies though.

I found the program a bit better tonight, although the whole Lucrezia feature really is panned out.

An Anglia package used as filler tonight. I fear neighbouring regions will be padding a lot of LT in the future.

Shocking - truly shocking that a city the size of London can't have a decent local news programme. Look at New York, Toronto etc, etc...proper local news teams covering important local issues. That's what LT was back in 1993 and it is very sad to see this.

If/when the London local TV station gets up an running, if it has a decent enough news opperation do you reckon ITV would consider farming off the London news to them?

Can they seriously get away with providing this non-service?

Considering it's pretty much the only commitment now of each London franchise surely any decent regulator would be warning ITV plc over what has happened this week, not rubber stamping a ten year extension. Considering how much interest there has been in the "Channel 6" local stations I'm sure they'd be plenty of companies willing to take on the ITV London franchise(s) and provide an adequate news service in return for the 10-15% of the networks revenues London must account for.