“He has overseen countless demands for justice on TV but yesterday Seven network news chief Peter Meakin got his own taste of crime and punishment.”

That’s how The Daily Telegraph put it, with more than a hint of relish. Channel Seven News didn’t shy away from the story, but Peter Mitchell did soften the blow by describing his boss as “the man who’s helped shape TV news…” If only others had been so kind.

The humiliation of standing in court to be sentenced to 14 months of weekend jail would not even come close to the excruciating embarrassment that was awaiting Meakin on the other side of the courthouse door. The veteran news man knew he was about to step straight into a very smug media scrum. And there, front and centre, was ACA‘s Ben Fordham.

Fordham was the Channel Nine journalist at the centre of the Wa Wa story that killed Naomi Robson’s credibility once and for all and launched an almighty brawl between TT, ACA and the Nine and Seven news departments.

The words “kick”, “while” and “down” spring to mind as you watch Fordham’s camera crew follow Meakin into a traffic education program and film him sitting in the classroom.

“As an influential and highly paid TV executive, Peter Meakin is used to strolling the corridors of power,” says Fordham. “So the past six months has been a bit of a culture shock. The veteran journalist has been back in the classroom learning the road rules.”

Click here to watch Peter Meakin swallow his own bile as Fordham then grills him outside court.