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 covered all the major sporting events for ITV News, including the
Olympics,
Wimbledon, the
British Open, rugby internationals, football news and cricket. He 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. He also briefly returned to sport as part of ITV's presentation team in
South Africa for the
1995 Rugby World Cup coverage. 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 and 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, Austin was replaced by
Tom Bradby on
ITV News at Ten. He then moved back to the
ITV Evening News, presenting 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
f with his daughter Madeleine. In September 2018, Austin started presenting
The News Hour with Mark Austin 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 during the first day of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. ==Awards and honours==