Lisa Aziz
Encyclopedia
Lisa Aziz is a British news presenter
. She is best known as the co-presenter of the Bristol
based ITV South West
nightly weekday news programme The West Country Tonight
. Before this she worked for TV-am
and Sky News
, and was one of the first Asian presenters to be seen on television. In 2004 she was the recipient of an EMMA
(Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy) award for Best Television News Journalist.
She studied at the University of London
, gaining a BA (Hons) in History of Art
and Religious Studies
, after which she joined Radio City, in Liverpool
, as a presenter. In 1983, she moved to Bristol where she worked as both a television reporter and presenter for the BBC and HTV West.
In 1988 she joined TV-am
as a reporter before presenting news bulletins for the station the following year. She was one of the first half Asian presenters to be seen on mainstream television, and the first Muslim news presenter. She joined Sky News in 1992, but continued to present bulletins for TV-am, and later went on to become one of the main news presenters at Sky News
. In 2004, she won the EMMA
Best Television News Journalist Award. She returned to the West Country in 2005, and has since been one of the main presenters of the ITV West main news programme The West Tonight
. From 16 February 2009, she became co-presenter of the pan-regional news programme The West Country Tonight
, which replaced The West Tonight
(ITV West) and Westcountry Live
(ITV Westcountry
) alongside Steve Scott
.
In June 2009 Aziz was reported to have gone on leave from ITV South West after suffering tendinitis. However, on 10 July it was reported that she had been suspended from her job because of irregularities with her expenses. However, ITV would only say that she had been off work for personal reasons.
reported that Aziz, who by then had not been seen hosting nightly news programme The West Country Tonight
for the past month, had been suspended for irregularities with her expenses, one of the irregular items apparently being a £5.75 bill for dry cleaning a child's top. The Mail report appeared after an article in Private Eye
published on 7 July. According to the Daily Mirror the claims amounted to £200. It was also reported that Aziz planned to sue ITV for religious, race and sex discrimination after an alleged prolonged bullying and harassment campaign aimed at forcing her out of the organisation. It was later reported that she had initiated legal proceedings against her employers in response to the allegations, and had lodged complaints about four people at ITV West.
Aziz also said that she hadn't been suspended, but had been signed off work for three months due to stress caused by the expenses allegations. She also received treatment at the Priory Clinic for work related stress and depression.
The Bristol Evening Post reported on Wednesday 24 February 2010 that Lisa Aziz had officially left ITV West and had dropped all allegations against the broadcaster.
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
. She is best known as the co-presenter of the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
based ITV South West
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...
nightly weekday news programme The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
. Before this she worked for TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
and Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
, and was one of the first Asian presenters to be seen on television. In 2004 she was the recipient of an EMMA
EMMA
EMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
(Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy) award for Best Television News Journalist.
Life and career
Aziz is of mixed descent, born to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother.She studied at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, gaining a BA (Hons) in History of Art
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
and Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
, after which she joined Radio City, in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, as a presenter. In 1983, she moved to Bristol where she worked as both a television reporter and presenter for the BBC and HTV West.
In 1988 she joined TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
as a reporter before presenting news bulletins for the station the following year. She was one of the first half Asian presenters to be seen on mainstream television, and the first Muslim news presenter. She joined Sky News in 1992, but continued to present bulletins for TV-am, and later went on to become one of the main news presenters at Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. In 2004, she won the EMMA
EMMA
EMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
Best Television News Journalist Award. She returned to the West Country in 2005, and has since been one of the main presenters of the ITV West main news programme The West Tonight
The West Tonight
The West Tonight was the flagship news programme in the ITV West region. It was broadcast at 6pm every weeknight. It launched in 1968 as Report West and ceased broadcasting on 15 February 2009.-History:...
. From 16 February 2009, she became co-presenter of the pan-regional news programme The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
, which replaced The West Tonight
The West Tonight
The West Tonight was the flagship news programme in the ITV West region. It was broadcast at 6pm every weeknight. It launched in 1968 as Report West and ceased broadcasting on 15 February 2009.-History:...
(ITV West) and Westcountry Live
Westcountry Live
Westcountry Live was the flagship regional news programme of ITV Westcountry, serving the South West of England.-History:The programme was first broadcast on Monday 4 January 1993 - four days after Westcountry Television took over the ITV regional franchise from Television South West...
(ITV Westcountry
Westcountry Television
Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...
) alongside Steve Scott
Steve Scott (journalist)
Steve Scott is a legendary British newsreader. He was educated at Clifton College and began his career in local radio. Scott currently employed by ITN where he presents on the weekend ITV News bulletins and is the Sports Editor.-ITN:...
.
In June 2009 Aziz was reported to have gone on leave from ITV South West after suffering tendinitis. However, on 10 July it was reported that she had been suspended from her job because of irregularities with her expenses. However, ITV would only say that she had been off work for personal reasons.
On leave from ITV West
Aziz disappeared from her presenting role in mid June 2009, and was replaced by two younger female presenters, Ellie Barker (ITV West) and Claire Manning (ITV Westcountry). On 10 July 2009 Mail OnlineMail Online
Mail Online is the name of the website of the Daily Mail, a newspaper in the United Kingdom. It contains almost all the stories from the Daily Mail and includes a large archive of main stories...
reported that Aziz, who by then had not been seen hosting nightly news programme The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
for the past month, had been suspended for irregularities with her expenses, one of the irregular items apparently being a £5.75 bill for dry cleaning a child's top. The Mail report appeared after an article in Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
published on 7 July. According to the Daily Mirror the claims amounted to £200. It was also reported that Aziz planned to sue ITV for religious, race and sex discrimination after an alleged prolonged bullying and harassment campaign aimed at forcing her out of the organisation. It was later reported that she had initiated legal proceedings against her employers in response to the allegations, and had lodged complaints about four people at ITV West.
Aziz also said that she hadn't been suspended, but had been signed off work for three months due to stress caused by the expenses allegations. She also received treatment at the Priory Clinic for work related stress and depression.
The Bristol Evening Post reported on Wednesday 24 February 2010 that Lisa Aziz had officially left ITV West and had dropped all allegations against the broadcaster.
Television
- HTV News (1984–1988)
- Good Morning BritainGood Morning BritainGood Morning Britain was TV-am's flagship breakfast television show throughout TV-am's time on air, broadcasting five days a week, initially from 7am until 9am. By 1985 the programme started at the earlier time of 6.15am and by 1988 the programme started at 6am. It had many different presenters...
(1988–1992) - QD: The Master Game (1992)
- CluedoCluedo (game show)Cluedo was a UK television game show based on the board game of the same name. Each week, a reenactment of the murder at the stately home Arlington Grange of a visiting guest was played and, through a combination of interrogating the suspects and deduction, celebrity guests had to discover who...
(1992) - Sky NewsSky NewsSky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
(1994–2005) - The West TonightThe West TonightThe West Tonight was the flagship news programme in the ITV West region. It was broadcast at 6pm every weeknight. It launched in 1968 as Report West and ceased broadcasting on 15 February 2009.-History:...
(2005–2009) - The West Country TonightThe West Country TonightThe West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
(2009)