From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours …

Mitchell: I’m not going anywhere. Chris Mitchell isn’t going anywhere. Forget the talk of retirement on Twitter this week — and his suggestion to Crikey in 2012 that 2014 would be his swan song — the editor-in-chief of The Australian says he’s got another couple of years in him. He told us today there’s “nothing firm yet” on his exit strategy and “I will certainly be here another two or three years”. In the top job at arguably Rupert Murdoch’s most influential Australian newspaper? “Yep.”

Mitchell, a barely greying 57, celebrated 40 years in journalism in December. “I want to leave plenty of time for travel,” he said, with daily trips to the beach in between. Clive Mathieson, the Oz‘s patient editor under Mitchell, will have to wait a little longer.

Meanwhile, we’re pretty sure this isn’t him. But thanks for the invite, whoever you are …

Craig Thomson watch. Wondered what the former member for Dobell has been up to since he left Parliament? We had, and so was delighted by this email from a tipster yesterday:

“Craig Thomson was spotted having breakfast in a Canberra hotel this morning, with a couple of (apparent) union officials. Union unknown but conversation was around what that union pays its organisers. Craig was very animated and appeared to be making a pitch for employment.”

Hmmm. Make of that what you will.

The Saturday Paper‘s own goal. “He has a Moleskine and a Netflix account. She subscribes to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. They are both light-house consumers.” Who are “they”? Why, the would-be readers of The Saturday Paper, of course. The Morry Schwartz-backed newspaper’s media kit has been doing the rounds this week. Most media kits are of course full of grandiose nonsense, but this one is something special.

Apart from the intriguing description of its readers (what are “light-house consumers”? And why can’t “she” have a Netflix account and a Moleskine?), its mock pages feature content gleaned from other publications, which is all rather ironic for a paper that says it’ll reinvent the genre. The twitterati had a ball with it:

The Saturday Paper‘s editor Erik Jensen wants everyone to judge the paper by its content and not by its ad sales department.

The newspaper lands on March 1. We’ll hold Jensen to that.

*Heard anything that might interest Crikey? Send your tips to boss@crikey.com.au or use our guaranteed anonymous form