Peter Meakin

Peter Jeremy Meakin (born 12 October 1942) is an English Australian journalist who has worked as news/current affairs director for all three of Australia's commercial television networks (Nine Network, Seven Network and Network Ten). Early life Meakin was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England in 1942. His family emigrated to Australia where he attended St Peter's College, Adelaide. Career Meakin joined the Nine Network in 1973, where he worked for thirty years, eventually becoming director of current affairs in 1987 and the head of news and current affairs in 1993; he was credited with the ratings success of programs including Sunday, 60 Minutes and A Current Affair. He was awarded a Walkley Award for leadership in journalism in 2002. In April 2003, Meakin left the Nine Network acrimoniously to join the rival Seven Network, where former Nine managing director David Leckie had taken on the reins. There, he was instrumental in lifting Seven's news ratings on the east coast, and by 2007, Seven News had become the top-rating news service in each of the five major capital cities in Australia.