Mark Austin (journalist)
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Mark William Austin (born 1 November 1958) is an English journalist and television presenter, currently working for '' Sky News''. Austin is best known as the former co-newscaster for the ''
ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale. ...
'', alongside
Mary Nightingale Mary Nightingale (born 26 May 1963) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the '' ITV Evening News'' since 2001. Education and early career Nightingale was educated at St Margaret's School, an independent s ...
, and the former co-newscaster of the ''
ITV News at Ten ''ITV News at Ten'' (or more commonly ''News at Ten'') is the flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox in July 1967. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-mi ...
'', alongside
Julie Etchingham Julie Anne Etchingham (born 21 August 1969) is an English journalist who works as a television newsreader with ITV News. A graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge, Etchingham joined the BBC as a trainee after completing her studies, and went on ...
. He also presented the ITV documentary series ''
Real Crime ''Real Crime'' is a British documentary television series produced by ITV Studios for the ITV network. Each episode examines a notorious crime and includes interviews with relatives of the victims. It was broadcast from 2001 to 2011, and ended ...
'' from 2008 until 2011. From 24 September 2018, he has presented ''The News Hour'' and ''Sky News at 6'' as part of schedule changes on Sky News.


Education

Austin was educated at Bournemouth School, a state grammar school in the town of Bournemouth, in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, followed by Highbury College in the city of
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
.


Career


Early career

Austin started his career in the media as a general reporter on the ''
Bournemouth Daily Echo The ''Bournemouth Daily Echo'', commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' (a.k.a. the ''Bournemouth Echo''), is a local newspaper that covers the area of southeast Dorset, England, including the towns Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Published ...
'' (1976–1980). He then joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as a newsroom writer, becoming a general news reporter in 1982. He was made a sports reporter in 1985. Austin joined ITN, who produce the news for ITV, in October 1986 as Sports Correspondent. He was given his first assignment on day one – to cover England's successful Ashes tour of Australia, as well as the America's Cup. He stayed in Australia for four months and during this time unexpectedly found himself reporting on the "Spycatcher" trial.


1990s

Austin has covered all the major sporting events for ITV News, including the Olympics, Wimbledon, the
British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, rugby internationals, football news and cricket. Austin was one of the first British journalists to report from the
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
during the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
in 1990. From the start of the war early in 1991, he was in
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, the base for many of the Tornado squadrons, sending back regular reports including those on the recapture of the islands of Qaruh and Um-al-Maradin. Austin was based in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
in 1993 as Asia Correspondent for ITV News. He returned there for his second tour as Asia Correspondent in 1996, spending over two years reporting, including the handover of the island to the Chinese in July 1997. He returned to London in mid-1998. 1994–1995 saw Austin in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
as Africa Correspondent for ITV News. Austin reported on the transition from
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
to democracy in South Africa, Nelson Mandela's election victory, and on the civil war in Rwanda. He also briefly returned to sport as part of ITV's presentation team in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
for the
1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...
coverage. During 1995, he also covered the Bosnian crisis, following the fall of
Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby ...
. His reporting won him a joint Gold Medal, with fellow-correspondent Paul Davies, at the 1996 Film & Television Festival of New York. In 1999, Austin covered the
War in Kosovo The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
. Based on the
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
n border for much of the conflict, Austin reported on the refugee crisis caused by the war. On the day in June
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
troops finally entered
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
he was airlifted in with the
Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recru ...
, the first troops to enter the country, reporting on their role as mine clearers, and witnessing an early confrontation with Serb police. Austin's reporting of the war was part of ITV News' coverage which received a Gold Nymph at the 1999
Monte Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, intro ...
.


2000s

In September 2001, he covered the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington before reporting on the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
. In 2001, he presented the first series of ITV reality series '' Survivor''. In 2002, Austin was promoted to ITV News' flagship news programme, the ''
ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale. ...
.'' He also reported on the invasion of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in March 2003, where coalition troops invaded to remove
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
from power. This saw Austin spend long periods of time in Iraq. In October 2006, Austin travelled to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
as part of a series of reports on China's economic growth. Austin had been to Beijing many times previously and covered the
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...
uprising in 1989. Austin became chief presenter of ITV News when
Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian- British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Career ...
retired on 15 December 2005. He took up the role of presenting the flagship ITV News programme on 3 January 2006. Austin also co-presented an ITV prime-time crime programme, '' Manhunt - Solving Britain's Crimes'', a live 90 minute programme appealing to the public for information on the UK's most wanted criminals. On 31 October 2007, ITV confirmed they would be resurrecting the ''News at Ten'' in 2008. Trevor McDonald would return as host with Sky News presenter
Julie Etchingham Julie Anne Etchingham (born 21 August 1969) is an English journalist who works as a television newsreader with ITV News. A graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge, Etchingham joined the BBC as a trainee after completing her studies, and went on ...
co-anchoring the bulletin every night. In August 2008, Austin reported and presented for ITV News' Olympics: Beijing 2008 coverage. On 30 October 2008, ITV confirmed Trevor McDonald was stepping down from ''News at Ten'' and Austin would replace him. It was announced in August 2009, that Austin would be replaced by
Alastair Stewart Alastair James Stewart OBE (born 22 June 1952) is an English former journalist and newscaster. Formerly presenting for ITV News, he joined GB News as a presenter in 2021. He has won the Royal Television Society's News Presenter of the Year awa ...
on the ''
ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale. ...
'', in order for Austin to concentrate on his duties on ''News at Ten''.


2010s

On 22 March 2013, Austin presented ''Who Killed My Dad? The Death of Terry Lloyd'', which explained the death of his colleague
Terry Lloyd Terence Ellis "Terry" Lloyd (21 November 1952 – 22 March 2003) was an English television journalist who reported extensively from the Middle East. He was killed by the U.S. military while covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq for ITN. An inq ...
. He co-presented the programme with Lloyd's daughter Chelsey. On 6 December 2013, following the death of Nelson Mandela the previous day, Austin fronted a tribute programme ''Nelson Mandela: His Life and Legacy''. In October 2015, Mark was replaced by
Tom Bradby Thomas Matthew Bradby (born 13 January 1967) is a British journalist and novelist who currently presents the ''ITV News at Ten''. He was previously political editor for ITV News from 2005 to 2015, and presented '' The Agenda with Tom Bradby'', ...
on ''ITV News at Ten''. He then moved back to the ''
ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale. ...
'', presenting alongside
Mary Nightingale Mary Nightingale (born 26 May 1963) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the '' ITV Evening News'' since 2001. Education and early career Nightingale was educated at St Margaret's School, an independent s ...
. In 2016, Austin guest presented numerous episodes of '' Good Morning Britain'' alongside
Ranvir Singh Ranvir Singh (born 11 August 1977) is a British journalist and television presenter. She is the political editor and newsreader/deputy presenter for '' Good Morning Britain''. Early life Singh was born in 1977 in Preston, Lancashire, into a Si ...
and Charlotte Hawkins. After thirty years with '' ITV News'', it was announced in October 2016, that Austin would be leaving at the end of the year. He presented his last programme on 22 December 2016. Austin joined
LBC Radio LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...
for a series of guest shows across the Easter weekend in April 2017. On 24 April 2017, it was announced that Austin would join '' Sky News'' as a U.S. correspondent. In August 2017, Austin co-presented a one-off documentary for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
called ''Wasting Away: The Truth About Anorexia'' with his daughter Madeleine. In September 2018, Austin started presenting ''
The News Hour with Mark Austin ''The News Hour with Mark Austin'' is a weekday news programme in the United Kingdom on Sky News, presented by Mark Austin. It combines rolling-news coverage with analysis and interviews on the day's issues. The show airs between 5 pm7 pm Mon ...
'' on Sky News, broadcast from Sky Central between 5pm to 6pm each weekday. He also presents ''Sky News at 6'' between 6pm and 7pm each weekday.


2020s

In February 2022, Austin presented Sky News live from
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
during the first day of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
.


Awards and honours

Austin has won 6 BAFTA awards. In 1995 for his role in ITV’s Rwanda coverage; in 2010, for his role in the '' ITV News'' coverage of the
Haiti earthquake Some of the earthquakes in Haiti have been very destructive to the country. The widespread damage and high-number of casualties of events in 2010 and 2021 can be partially blamed on the fact that most of the population in Haiti resides in struct ...
.In 2011 for the Cumbria Murders coverage and in 2014 for reporting of the Woolwich attacks. With Sky News in 2020, Austin won a BAFTA for coverage of the Hong Kong protests. And in 2021, for a programme on the crisis in Idlib in Syria, also for Sky News He won an international Emmy in 2000 for his reporting of the 2000 Mozambique floods, as well as a Gold Nymph at the 2000 Television Festival of Monte Carlo, and Gold and Silver Medals at the ''New York Television Programming Awards''. In 2014 and 2015, Austin won the 'RTS Presenter of the Year Award'. *In 1993, he won top prize in the Sports News category at the
Royal Television Society Awards The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
for his coverage of the drug scandal affecting three British sportsmen at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. *He was awarded an honorary doctorate in November 2008 by
Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...
.


Personal life

Austin lives in Haslemere, Surrey with his wife Catherine, an A&E doctor, and their three children Jack, Madeleine, and Beatrice. He is a supporter of
Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...
and regularly posts comments about the club on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.


Career


References


External links

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Mark 1958 births BBC newsreaders and journalists International Emmy Award winners ITN newsreaders and journalists Sky News newsreaders and journalists Living people People educated at Bournemouth School Writers from Bournemouth Writers from London English rugby union commentators