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Seven in talks on news and current affairs

Seven exec Peter Meakin reportedly leads "high-powered meetings" over changes in News & Current Affairs.

“High-powered meetings” took place at Seven last week between News & Current Affairs boss Peter Meakin, former Today Tonight executive producer Craig McPherson and Seven’s Queensland general manager Neil Mooney, The Australian reports.

“Intense discussions” were said to be focussed on high-level changes in news and current affairs, following from previous speculation about cost cuts, sliding numbers in key markets and the future of TT.

Meakin recently said there were ways to cut costs that didn’t involve sackings (shortly before Leith Mulligan was sacked at Seven Melbourne).

As to the future of TT, last week he hinted to The Age, ”Love them or hate them, Today Tonight and A Current Affair are popular programs.

”They are usually in the top 10 every night, sometimes the top five. I think the 6.30 programs have to evolve. We can’t keep serving up the same meal year after year. We have to be more inventive, more adventurous maybe, and I think you’ll see that on Seven and Nine.”

Craig McPherson is one of several names touted as Meakin’s potential successor alongside Rob Raschke, Mark Llewellyn, Chris Willis and Adam Boland.

“Craig is working with me on a number of projects and it’s great to have his expertise on tap,” Meakin recently said. “My successor, whoever he or she may be, will be appointed when the time is ripe by my superiors — not me.”

Meakin’s contract runs until mid-2013.

12 Responses

  1. Could they look at combining the Sydney and Melbourne bulletins into one, have both Chris and Peter read the news, a lot of the stores are of national/international importance and have it pre recorded by about 30mins so as to be able to edit syd/melb only news items and also include the today tonight stories as a news and current affairs show. I think that would be fantastic

  2. Indubitably, Seven’s chief wretchedness is the vigour of their 6pm Melbourne news bulletin. The atrophy of its figures cannot go untreated. While I grant the actuality it’s going to take a long time to rebuild its audience, Seven shouldn’t have allowed its figures reach dreadful circumstances.

    As a matter of a personal estimation, of those being well thought-out as likely successors to Peter Meakin, Adam Boland is the right fit. He has an impeccable track record including being the brainchild of Sunrise and The Morning Show, and co-creating Sunday Night with Mark Llewellyn. I cannot demonstrate the operation of his mind though it would be more of a fair statement to suggest the lawsuit against Seven was dropped in lieu of him being given more responsibility.

  3. Here’s a thought – over Christmas (read out-of- ratings), TT is “rested” but the news is extended to a one hour bulletin.

    Then in the new year, TT doesn’t re-appear and the network continues with the longer news bulletins.

    Watch this space!

  4. I wish current affairs like ACA & TT would demonstrate better quality journalism and report on news issues in more detail as their main ingredient rather than dodgy tradespeople, meat pie ingredients or the doom and gloom of taxes, the economy or household bills!

  5. TT and ACA are based on a small amount of consumer advice and lot sensational stories about government tax increases, con men and lazy unemployed people.

    There major problem is that the 7 and 9 News are covering the same territory.

    As the SMH guide pointed out today, with people working such long hours and a 24 minute news cycle on the internet it remarkable that they rate so highly.

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