Print

Mail

wiki links

Australia braces for shake-up of media ownership controls

Australia's newspaper and TV markets prepared yesterday for a major shake-up and a wave of mergers after the Cabinet reportedly gave the go-ahead for a radical overhaul of ownership laws.

The reforms, due to be revealed in full later this week by Communications Minister Helen Coonan, are expected to lift a ban on companies owning newspaper, radio and TV operations in the same city or region.

They would also remove a 15 percent limit on overseas ownership of Australian broadcasters and a 25 percent limit on foreign control of mass circulation newspapers.

Green light

The proposals, first outlined in March, were given the green light at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, several newspapers reported. They still have to be cleared by government backbench members of parliment and could face challenges in the Senate.

The change in the regulation of the A$12 billion (US$9 billion) media market, already dominated by a handful of news and entertainment giants, is expected to clear the way for a wave of mega-mergers, the Australian Financial Review said.

Critics argue, however, that the long-awaited reforms -- first put forth by Prime Minister John Howard in 1996 -- will result in a further loss of diversity of news and opinion in a country where much of the media is already owned by moguls allied to the political right.

The Australian subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, News Limited, controls nearly 70 percent of the metropolitan and national newspaper market and will, under the proposed changes, be able to extend its reach into television.

Opposition

Murdoch has opposed the changes, saying they artificially protect, and will drive up the price, of free-to-air TV stations and he has called on the government to issue extra to redress the perceived imbalance.

Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL), built up by the late billionaire Kerry Packer and now run by his son James, has dominant interests in TV and magazine publishing, and would be able to move into newspapers.

John Fairfax Holdings, the No. 2 newspaper publisher with 20 percent of the metropolitan market, is considered a prime takeover target under the reforms alongside third-ranked TV broadcaster, Ten Network.

Independent media analyst Peter Cox said the changes would be a major victory for PBL over Murdoch's News Limited, which wanted to launch a fourth commercial channel, a move the government was determined to resist.

Coonan said when introducing the reforms that they were essential if Australia was to avoid falling behind in a media world undergoing revolutionary change due to development of the internet, digital TV and next-generation mobile telephones.
This story has been viewed 1098 times.