In response to two Australian media inquests (the Convergence Review and Finkelstein Enquiry), Communications Minister Stephen Conroy yesterday announced major reforms to media laws, including plans to appoint a Public Interest Media Advocate who would oversee self-regulating media bodies and evaluate large-scale media mergers.
1. A press standards model which ensures strong self-regulation of the print and online news media. [A new code of practice covering all media would be established by and for the industry, meaning that news organisations that sign up to those standards will be exempt from certain privacy legislation; freelancers, citizen journalists and bloggers won’t be exempt from the Privacy Act if they breached standards of the new model.]
2. The introduction of a Public Interest Test to ensure diversity considerations are taken into account for nationally significant media mergers and acquisitions. [An elected watchdog, PIMA (see below) would be asked to evaluate if mergers, takeovers and acquisitions in the media sector are consistent with government requirements on diversity.]
4. Supporting community television services following digital switchover by providing them a permanent allocation of a portion of Channel A. [Basically a continued prohibition on a possible fourth commercial TV network.]
5. Making permanent the 50% reduction in the licence fees paid by commercial television broadcasters, conditional on the broadcast of an additional 1490 hours of Australian content by 2015. [Permanent 50% license fee rebate for commercial broadcasters who meet Australian content obligations.]
“If either of these reforms do not garner sufficient support to pass the Parliament by the end of next week, then the Government will not proceed with the bills containing them,” after which we’ll likely just call the whole thing off.
