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ITN opens new bureau in Dubai for ITV News

By Oliver Luft

ITN is opening a new bureau in Dubai for ITV News as the broadcaster reduces its presence in Africa and shuffles its foreign correspondents.

The Dubai bureau is ITV News’s first new overseas operation since the opening of its China bureau in 2006.

ITV News’s South Africa bureau in Johannesburg will be close; however, the broadcaster will retain production staff and a camera crew in the city.

Former ITV News Washington correspondent John Irvine has been appointed as the channel’s new international correspondent and will be based in the Dubai bureau.

Irvine will use the new location as a hub from which he will cover stories across the Indian sub continent, Africa and the Gulf region.

Robert Moore is to replace Irvine as Washington correspondent – a role that he previously held between 2001 and 2006 – while Africa correspondent Martin Geissler will move from Johannesburg to replaces Moore as Europe correspondent.

Other changes will see John Ray becomes Middle East correspondent, having successfully launched operations in China operations in advance of the Beijing Olympics.

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He will be replaced by UK editor Angus Walker who will take his first foreign role as China correspondent.

The majority of these changes are expected to come into place on-screen in early September.

Jonathan Munro, deputy editor of ITV News, said: “This new line-up will refresh our on-screen reporting and play to the strengths of our correspondents.

“The strategic decision to open the Dubai bureau will improve our longer term newsgathering and ability to get teams on the ground for breaking stories in a wide area from Pakistan to Southern Africa.”

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