VETERAN ITN journalist and broadcaster Alastair Stewart formally opened Winchester University's purpose-built, industry-standard newsroom.

Alastair, who started his broadcasting career in Southampton and lives in Ropley, toured the newsroom - part of the 24-hour multimedia centre which also includes a TV and radio studio, computerised radio station and facilities for multi-track audio recording - and met Journalism students and teaching staff before the ribbon-cutting.

The newsroom offers students the opportunity to gain practical experience working as a reporter. It also serves as the hub for the university's Winchester News Online website.

Prof Joy Carter, vice-chancellor, said: "In this era of fake news, the sustainability of intelligent reliable journalism is more crucial than ever in underpinning democratic freedoms and social justice. This university believes that it is essential to our mission and our values to invest in the future of high quality journalism education."

At the forefront of British journalism for more than four decades, Alastair presents one of the country's most iconic news programmes, News at Ten. He is a good friend of the University and has hosted Winchester students at ITN HQ in London. He currently works at ITN with a number of Winchester graduates who have successfully transferred their skills from the University newsroom to his, on a national and international level.

He said: "These facilities are absolutely brilliant, because they look and feel like the real thing. As well as academic excellence, it's important that student journalists get the best chance of employment.

"Anyone who wants to work in television journalism, output or input, has got to feel the space and the facilities I have opened today will help Winchester students feel the space of the newsroom."