Mark Austin (journalist)

Education

Austin was educated at Bournemouth School, a state grammar school in the town of Bournemouth, in Dorset, followed by Highbury College in the city of Portsmouth in Hampshire.

Early career

Austin started his career in the media as a general reporter on the Bournemouth Daily Echo (1976–1980). He then joined the BBC 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, rugby internationals, football news and cricket. In 1995, he was seconded to ITV to report from South Africa on the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Austin was one of the first British journalists to report from the Gulf during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. From the start of the war early in 1991, he was in Bahrain, 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 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 as Africa Correspondent for ITV News. Austin reported on the transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa, Nelson Mandela's election victory, and on the civil war in Rwanda. During 1995, he also covered the Bosnian crisis, following the fall of Srebrenica. 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. Based on the Albanian border for much of the conflict, Austin reported on the refugee crisis caused by the war. On the day in June NATO troops finally entered Kosovo he was airlifted in with the Gurkhas, 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.

2000s

In September 2001, he covered the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington before reporting on the War in Afghanistan. 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. He also reported on the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, where coalition troops invaded to remove Saddam Hussein from power. This saw Austin spend long periods of time in Iraq. In October 2006, Austin travelled to Beijing 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 uprising in 1989.

Austin became chief presenter of ITV News when Trevor McDonald 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 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 on the ITV Evening News, 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. 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 on ITV News at Ten. He then went on to present the ITV Evening News alongside Mary Nightingale.

In 2016, Austin guest presented numerous episodes of Good Morning Britain alongside Ranvir Singh 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 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 called Wasting Away: The Truth About Anorexia with his daughter Madeleine.

Awards and honours

Personal life

Austin lives in Haslemere, Surrey with his wife Catherine, an A&E doctor, and their three children Jack, Madeleine, and Beatrice.