Bio

Background and Format:  ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News (ITN). It covers national, international and regional news and current affairs, business, politics, sport and entertainment. Production Company: ITN and ITV plc Schedule Times: The main bulletins are broadcast daily on ITV at 1:30pm, 6:30pm and 10pm, with regional news at 6-6:30pm For weekends, bulletins are 12:25pm and 5:35pm on Saturdays and 12:15pm, 5:00pm and 10.00pm on Sundays An online schedule can be viewed here Target Audience: Viewers of ITV News fall into the ABC1 demographic. Stats: We cannot issue audience figures due to contractual restraints. Please visit BARB at www.barb.co.uk Ad Rates: Information about advertising on ITV can be found here Tips for PRs: There is a weekly planning meeting on Wednesday afternoon, looking ahead to the following week. An agenda meeting takes place on Monday. PRs can help by getting in touch in a timely fashion - 2 weeks is ideal. A follow-up is also a good idea. Be mindful of specialist journalists and planners when pitching. Remember the main events - do not try to pitch something irrelevant the day before the Budget, for example. ITV News tends not to have regular experts and spokespeople, instead preferring a wide range of people more representative of the workforce. Spokespeople from companies outside of London tend to reflect more the national view. PRs should think about what they're trying to get out of the release before setting an embargo. PRs should also understand Ofcom's guidelines over undue prominence. ITV News has to be balanced in its consideration. PRs should be aware of potential demands of broadcast for filming, interviews and case studies. Art topics tend to get greater coverage when there's a new hook. These stories usually appear on News at 10, but must be newsworthy. It depends on a story's content as to whether is remains at a regional or is elevated to a national level. Health stories are best if tethered to a personal story and are not theoretical. Celebrity stories should have a news angle. The team are not keen on using B-roll as they prefer their own footage. All pictures must be sent to stills@itn.co.uk. There is no specific contact for the picture desk. Pictures sent to the email address are picked up by a member of the news team. Please include contact details with images sent into the Picture Desk. Other information: At 6:00am there is a newsdesk meeting, with representation from the Home News, Foreign News and London News Editors, as well as the Lunchtime show. At 8:00am there is a cross-company meeting with representatives from the news-arms of ITN. At 9:00am an editorial meeting takes place, involving likes the Editor, the Deputy Editor, Head of Newsgathering, Head of Home News, Head of Foreign News, Programme Editors and News Editors. At 2.30/3:00pm an