Political Correspondent, News
The Role
Political Correspondent, ITV Regional News
ITV News
2 roles available
1x Permanent position
1x 6-month secondment / Fixed Term Contract
One role will be covering politics for ITV News Calendar and the other for ITV News West Country. (Candidates should show a preference of region in their application).
Office location: Westminster
Salary: £50,000 - £62,000
The team
Our News team delivers high quality and trustworthy television and online coverage that regularly attracts audiences in excess of 3.5 million viewers. It's a fast moving environment with a huge variety of roles and challenges on offer. We operate in 11 main news production centres across England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Channel Islands. Our Political Unit is based in the heart of Westminster. And finally, we produce a range of current affairs & factual programming out of ITV Wales, UTV and ITV Border.
The role
We have an exciting opportunity for two experienced multiplatform broadcast journalists to join our team as Political Correspondent serving ITV Regional News in Westminster. One would be covering politics for ITV News Calendar and the other for ITV News West Country. (Candidates should show a preference of region in their application)
Our Political Correspondents report on regional political stories and features for the flagship 6pm News Programme, Monthly Political Programme, ITVX, ITV News Website and Social Media, by creating packages, appearing live or 'as live' and posting on our social channels. They provide a link between the regions they serve and political activity at Westminster, and in Local Government.
This role entails...
As an ITV Political Correspondent you will have a passion for politics and an outstanding proven track record in journalistic originality and creativity with the ability to set the agenda and react effectively to breaking stories. You will consistently generate original and creative ideas, write, package and edit material as required, exercising excellent editorial judgement whilst maintaining high journalistic standards. Our Political Correspondents edit their own material so we expect you to be a quick, creative and polished editor to complement the newsgathering and story-telling skills you already possess.
You will be a confident communicator with the ability to deal with people at all levels and maintain a collaborative approach, liaising closely with the Westminster News Editor as well as the regional Newsdesk and Producers about the requirements for the programmes.
Our Political Correspondents are based in London, but regularly visit the regions they serve.
Skills you'll need (minimum criteria)
- Proven track record of delivering original, high-quality and distinctive television and digital journalism.
- Proven technical ability (editing, live reporting and digital) to give your political coverage maximum impact whether package, live, online article or expert 'blog.'
- A passion for politics and a demonstrable knowledge of the current and past political world as well as a good knowledge of how parliament operates.
- Strong on-screen presence (which will be scored on your showreel).
Other things we're looking for (key criteria)
- An understanding of the importance of Diversity and Inclusion in determining output.
- A good knowledge of the ITV News Calendar or West Country region.
- The ability to demonstrate resilience and determination with a willingness to learn new skills.
- Experience of working effectively as part of a team.
- Experience of using Social Media.
- Experience of newsroom systems, such as Avid, Wolftech and Adobe Premiere Pro.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of what we do at UTV and we want to ensure we reflect our audience both on screen and in our workforce. ITV is for Everyone and we encourage applications from Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent people and People of Colour to apply for this role.
As a Disability Confident Leader, if you meet the minimum criteria for a role and you have declared that you are disabled, we'll guarantee to take you to the next stage* (minimum criteria above).
Newsrooms are busy and pressurised environments, involving live news production, which often requires colleagues to make quick decisions under pressure. We also need people who are able to use their initiative and, particularly for editorial roles, know what information might be required and how to research it.
We need to test these abilities at the interview stage to understand how candidates will react when operating in a pressurised environment. This is a fundamental requirement of the role. We will always consider any request for reasonable adjustments as part of the interview process, for example sharing key themes when that is requested in connection with a neurodivergent condition, whilst still ensuring that we are able to test a candidate's ability to operate in the specific environment of a newsroom.
*There may be a few exceptions where we are not able to take all eligible candidates to the next stage due to the volume of applications.
Closing date: Tuesday 16th December 2026
Interview dates: Friday 16th January 2026
Please note, a standard DBS check is required as part of the recruitment process for this role. Please include a showreel with your application. The notice period for this role is 2 months (this will include any new contracts/ secondments)