Media bosses hail end of reform package

EDS: Closes off earlier story

By Peter Trute, AAP Senior Finance Writer

SYDNEY, March 21 AAP - Media companies have welcomed the collapse of the federal government's controversial package of reforms to ownership and regulation in the industry.

Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes says he is pleased by the government's decision to withdraw four bills affecting media ownership and industry self-regulation.

"We had expressed reservations about both the content of these bills and in particular the process," Mr Stokes said in a statement.

"Media policy is vital to the democratic health of our country."

Ten Network also hailed the end of the reform attempt, which was launched by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy last week and sparked immediate anger from media executives.

"These bills were fundamentally flawed, contained numerous significant drafting and operational problems and could not realistically be implemented in their current form," a Ten spokesman said in a statement.

News Limited chief executive Kim Williams said he was "relieved that commonsense has prevailed".

However, Southern Cross Austereo chief executive Rhys Holleran criticised the decision.

"We are not surprised by today's decision, we're disappointed as we've been a consistent supporter regarding the removal of the reach rule - a policy which we believe is out of date," Mr Holleran said.

The bills proposed the removal of the 75 per cent "reach rule" governing broadcast television market size and the establishment of a Public Interest Media Advocate empowered to decide on takeovers and ownership concentration as well as whether media self-regulatory bodies were performing to an acceptable standard.

Mr Williams had branded the bills as an attempt to institute "government-sanctioned journalism".

Two uncontroversial bills dealing with Australian content quotas and the permanent reduction of commercial television licence fees were passed by parliament.

Citi media analyst Justin Diddams said the media reform bills had strained relationships among media players and the failure to remove the reach rule could constrain future growth.

The removal of the reach rule would have opened the way for a Nine Entertainment-Southern Cross Austereo merger after the expiry of Southern Cross's regional content affiliate agreement with Ten Network.

This had the effect of fracturing somewhat the relationships between Nine and regional partner WIN TV, and Ten and Southern Cross.

"From an industry health perspective, it's a bit of a shame that the reach rule didn't get abolished," Mr Diddams said.

"Allowing mergers would have meant more investment in content."

Seven West Media shares gained 11 cents, or five per cent, to $2.27, with Mr Diddams attributing the rise to the reduction in licence fees, which represent a significant cost reduction for the networks.

Southern Cross lifted 4.5 cents to $1.595, Ten slipped half a cent to 34.5 cents, News Corp added nine cents to $29.03 cents, and Fairfax Media ended down half a cent at 64.5 cents.

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Gillard open to media law amendments

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says the government is willing to consider sensible changes to its proposed media laws, but won't be "cross-trading or horse-trading".

Labor wants its package of bills passed by the end of the week, putting in place changes to broadcasting rules and a new public interest media advocate to oversee press and online standards and media mergers and acquisitions.

Ms Gillard does not yet have the numbers to get the bills through the lower house and two committees are hearing evidence from media bosses and other interested parties on Monday.

"What we've said is we don't want the intent of our reforms to be distorted in any way," the prime minister told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

"We've got the parliament committee process in train now and we will see what immediately arises from the parliamentary committees.

"(But) our intention remains to pursue the legislation that is before the parliament now."

Ms Gillard said if there were "sensible suggestions" out of the committee process, the government would listen to them.

"But we are not in the business of cross-trading or horse-trading on these bills."

Asked whether she would take a media policy to the federal election, she said she would make "further statements" after the parliamentary sitting week was over.

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Cuban dissident vows to launch free media

AWARD-WINNING dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, on her first international trip in years, has challenged Havana to let her launch an independent media outlet.

"I have told a lot of people. And I am telling this to my country's government: I am coming back to Cuba to set up a media outlet," Sanchez, 37, said at a briefing on the sidelines of an Inter American Press Association meeting on Sunday.

The announcement would come as news to the government of Cuban President Raul Castro, 81. Cuba is the Americas' only Communist-ruled state and the government controls the media.

Sanchez said she hopes her venture, which she declined to detail, throws light on "the Cuba that is censored, silenced and hidden from the rest of the world -- and especially from my own fellow Cubans".

"I know it is impossible, that it is illegal. But I am not going to be the one to stop me," said Sanchez, a staunch critic and chronicler of the hardships of everyday life under the current regime.

"And I know a lot of people with a lot of energy who are going to join me in carrying out this project."

Sanchez, named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2008, is largely unknown in her own country.

She is on a global tour after Cuba issued a reform in October that allows its citizens to travel abroad for the first time without a reviled and costly exit visa, and which also gave Sanchez her long sought-for permission to travel.

The blogger said last week in Spain that the Cuban government's reforms since Castro assumed the presidency are "desperate measures" by a system that is "in a terminal phase, which can't fend for itself economically and whose historic leaders are in their last years of life".

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