Mark Webster (born 1953) is an English journalist of over thirty years' standing. He is a former correspondent for

Independent Television News Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washington, D.C. I ...

, having worked for the company for over twenty years. He was its Industrial Correspondent, Northern Correspondent, Political Correspondent, Business Correspondent, Business Editor, Moscow Correspondent, Ireland Correspondent and a presenter of the ITV Morning News. He was also news correspondent for five news, at the time produced by

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

for Channel five television.

Early life

Webster was born on 21 November 1953 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

Education

Webster was educated at the King's School, a boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for boys (now a co-educational day school) in the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, between the years 1962-1972, where he was a day pupil at ''Wulstan House''.

Life and career

After leaving school, Webster joined the ''

Gloucestershire Echo ''Gloucestershire Echo'' is a local weekly newspaper based in Gloucester, England. Published every Thursday, it covers the areas of Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and Tewkesbury. The newspaper is head ...

'' newspaper. After a year on the paper, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he worked as a freelance broadcaster and journalist. On his return to London, he joined the London ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' as a leader writer. In 1977, he joined the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' and became its Africa Correspondent, and then its Industrial Correspondent. In September 1982, Webster joined Independent Television News as a scriptwriter for ITN's

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

, and in 1983 became ITN Industrial Correspondent for ITN programmes on ITV. He reported extensively on the year-long miners' strike, the arrest of

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history o ...

and the miners' subsequent return to work. In September 1987, he was appointed ITN's Northern Correspondent. In 1990, Webster became ITN Political Correspondent, based at ITN's Westminster bureau, covering the 1992 General Election and the political troubles facing

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

's Government after his re-election with a much-reduced Conservative majority. In March 1994, he became ITN Business Correspondent, followed by ITN Business Editor in 1995. In 1998, Webster became ITN Moscow Correspondent, reporting on the political problems of

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

and Russian-US relations, and in 2000, became ITN Ireland Correspondent. In 2003, Webster became a presenter of the ITV Morning News and a News Correspondent based in the UK. In 2005, he became a news correspondent at five news, with its news content provided by ''

''. In June 2007, Webster became a senior media spokesman for

Menzies Campbell Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a Scottish politician, advocate and former athlete. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for North ...

, the then-leader of the Liberal Democrats, working alongside Puja Darbari, Sir Menzies's Press Secretary and Communications Director Jon Oates. Sir Menzies said: "Mark is a highly experienced journalist and I am delighted that he has agreed to join our communications team. He has the perfect experience for this role and I know that he will make a significant contribution to our communications as we prepare for the next general election." In 2008, Webster became Director of Communications for the

Charities Aid Foundation The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a registered UK charity that operates in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. It works with companies, private philanthropists, regular donors, fellow foundations, governments, cha ...

, and in 2012, a Strategic Communications Associate for the Thomson (Media) Foundation.Mark Webster - Strategic Communications Associate
Publisher: ''Thomson Foundation''. Retrieved: 12 January 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Mark English male journalists English television journalists English television presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists People educated at King's School, Worcester Sky News newsreaders and journalists 1953 births Living people