ITN
Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaus and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washington, D.C.
This article is about the television production company in the United Kingdom. For the news programme broadcast on ITV produced by the company, see ITV News. For other uses, see ITN (disambiguation).
ITN produces the daily news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 in the UK, and in recent years has diversified to produce a wide range of content including documentaries, sports, advertising and digital material for a range of international clients.
Between 1955 and 1999, ITN was more commonly known as the general brand name of ITV's news programmes. Since 8 March 1999, ITV has used ITV News as the brand name for its news programmes, though ITN continues as the network's news provider. The network's largest franchise owner, ITV plc (through its Channel 3 franchising subsidiary ITV Broadcasting Limited),[2] is the largest shareholder of ITN, owning 40% of the company's shares. Other shareholders are Daily Mail and General Trust, Thomson Reuters and Informa plc, each owning 20% of shares.
Other programmes of note[edit]
Channel 5 Royal Documentaries[edit]
ITN's royal documentaries have been a ratings winner for Channel 5 on Saturday nights, with programmes released about the current monarchy under names such as Harry and Meghan: Two Troubled Years, Charles and Camilla: King and Queen in Waiting and Fergie & Andrew The Duke & Duchess of Disaster. Documentaries about the past members of the British Royal Family are also getting good viewing figures, with a programme about King George V (whose reign was from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936) achieving a rating of 1.4 million viewers when it was first broadcast.[32] Most of these documentaries[33] feature archive clips with contributions from historians and royal watchers like former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond or Lady Colin Campbell.[34] As well as the British Royal Family, the slot had also been used to schedule an ITN documentary called The Grace of Monaco: Hollywood Princess about Grace Kelly, the American actor who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in April 1956, one of the few ITN royal titles featuring foreign-born royalty.
Other Royal Documentaries[edit]
ITN also made the documentary Charles: Our New King for Beyond Rights, with the programme scheduled for a transmission slot on Channel 4, The Smithsonian Channel (in North America), SBS and M6.[35] Similar to ITN's programmes for Channel 5, the programme was a trawl through its Royal archive with experts like Ayesha Hazarika, Bonnie Greer, Polly Toynbee and Ian Skelly analysing various points in King Charles' life.[36]
Corporate affairs[edit]
Headquarters and studios[edit]
ITN has been based at 200 Gray's Inn Road since 1991. The purpose-built headquarters were designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 8 May 1991.[49][50] The building also houses the ITV Network Centre and Warner Bros. offices.[51][52] Prior to the redevelopment, the site was the location of The Times and The Sunday Times offices from 1974 to 1986,[53][54] and The Guardian offices from 1961 to 1976.[55]
ITN's first base was Ingersoll House on Kingsway, before moving across the road to Associated-Rediffusion's newly converted Television House shortly before the first broadcast.[56]
In August 1969, the company moved to ITN House at 48 Wells Street, close to the BBC's Broadcasting House.[57]
As of December 2020, there are three operational television studios based at ITN. Studios 1 and 2 are located in the basement of the building, with both studios measuring 2,438 sq ft in size each. Studio 1 is currently used by the ITV national news bulletins and the ITV News London bulletins, and comprises a full green screen backdrop in the studio, with two desk areas facing each other. Studio 2 is used by Channel 5 News and also produces Jeremy Vine's morning show on Channel 5. Studio 6 is located adjacent to the atrium of ITN and has been home to Channel 4 News since 1999.[58]
Leadership[edit]
The Chief Executive of ITN is Rachel Corp.[59] A former ITV News Editor, Rachel succeeded Deborah Turness in September 2022, when Turness left to join the BBC. Prior to Turness, ITN was led by Anna Mallett, who left to join Netflix.[1] Mallett had been in post for around two years, having joined the company in April 2019.[60]
The Times reported in 2022, that one former ITN staff member signed a secrecy clause or NDA after accepting a financial settlement and agreeing to drop allegations of victimisation and sex discrimination inside the company.
The woman said she raised her grievance in 2020 after ITN’s then chief executive, Anna Mallett, told staff she wanted to create “a culture where people feel confident to speak up”.
Upon its inception, ITN was jointly owned by all the ITV operating companies, with shareholdings split roughly in proportion to each company's advertising income. However, the Broadcasting Act 1990 allowed the ITC to set ownership rules. It was decided to limit the ITV companies to a maximum joint 49% stake, with no single company allowed more than a 20% holding. The powers were abolished by the Communications Act 2003.
