Meakin and his cryptic future. Is Seven news boss Peter Meakin feeling the heat? Not bloody likely, he tells Crikey, denying plans to shift him aside. One tipster suggested Meakin would be boned in January for Brisbane news boss Rob Raschke, with Meakin to stay on heading up Today Tonight and Sunday Night. Not so, Seven spinner Simon Francis tells us — “both claims come as some surprise to both”.

But then this rather cryptic email from the man himself: “I don’t know if I’ll last that long. Certainly, a lot of people would be happy to see the back of me.” Is Kerry Stokes one of them? One newspaper report had the Seven chief furious at Meakin over running the David Campbell sex scandal. Says Meakin: “You’d better ask him that.”

So you feel pressure to leave? Is there a plan to move you aside? “I don’t feel any pressure at all. No one has discussed such a plan with me.” So who wants you out? “Quite a number of people at Nine, I’d imagine. Are you going cold on the Stokes angle?” Is there a Stokes angle? “On the record, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Kerry Stokes. He has always been terrific to me.”

So what’s Kerry upset about? “Who says he’s upset? He hasn’t told me that.” So everything’s hunky-dory then, Mr Meakin? “You should stop trying to put words into my mouth. As Pontius Pilate said, ‘what I have written, I have written’.” So that’s all we’re saying about that … — Jason Whittaker

Voters don’t want to know about Campbell. In the wake of the David Campbell story, Essential Media has found a large number of voters don’t support the revelation of the details of politicians’ private lives under any circumstances.

Today’s Essential Report shows 38% of voters think there are no circumstances where the revelation of politicians’ sexual behaviour is justified. However, a larger number — 42% — support revelations if they are justified by either a connection to the politician’s work, the use of taxpayer resources, or the hypocrisy of publicly advocating one thing and doing another in private.

However, only 20% of voters thought exposure was justified if the politician was engaged in “unusual” or non-mainstream activities, with 67% saying they did not believe it was appropriate. — Bernard Keane

The mysteriously non-existent police station. Curious to know how getting rid of police reporters will affect journalism? Try this, from AAP via the ABC: “The off-duty Constable from Central Metropolitan Region police station allegedly jumped in the cab on Bayswater Road, Kings Cross, about 2:00am (AEST).”  Good luck to any cub reporter trying to find Central Metropolitan Region Police Station. — a Crikey media-watcher

‘Weak and uninformed’ Fairfax board hires help

“The board of Fairfax Media has hired external consultants to evaluate its medium-term growth strategy, including a proposal to hand back control of the group’s flagship websites to the print side of the business.” — The Australian

Singer takes to Twitter to shame NY Times journo

“MIA, the Grammy-nominated singer and rapper of Sri Lankan descent and subject of a rather unflattering 8164-word New York Times Magazine profile, has never been a big fan of the Times’ coverage of the island … On Thursday, MIA took that vitriol to a new level, tweeting the cellphone number of Lynn Hirschberg, the author of the profile, as if it was hers.” — The Wrap

The Age on the iPad — a sneak peak

“Mumbrella can exclusively reveal the first screen shots of The Age’s iPad app, after a prototype of the Fairfax Media newspaper’s application briefly appeared on the iTunes store on Saturday night.” — Mumbrella

Apple hasn’t given up on lounge rooms

“A tip we’ve received — which has been confirmed by a source very close to Apple — details the outlook for the next version of the Apple TV, and it’s a doozy.” — Engadget

The web’s much-needed conversation: auto-refresh and auditing

“There’s two areas that are frequently talked about in the world of digital media — problem is, it’s generally all talk no action.” — Talking Digital

Gary Coleman lives — in musical form

“Despite some very serious consideration that Avenue Q would require significant revision or have to drop the role altogether, Mr Whitty said that Gary Coleman, the character, would live on in the musical.” — New York Times