A wordy attempt to save free speech

Plans to impose a public interest test on media owners ... Communications Minister Stephen Conroy. Photo: Louise Kennerley

CITING the Magna Carta, free speech and commercial freedom, the bosses of most of Australia's major media organisations have implored the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, to block further media regulation.

The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, told the Herald last week he would take to cabinet within weeks a plan to regulate the media and impose on owners a public interest test.

A public interest test would compromise billions of dollars of Australian and international equity assets, according to the strongly-worded letter, signed by the heads of Foxtel, APN, Seven West Media, NINE, AAP, News Ltd and the Australian News Channel.

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''The Convergence Review has not even been able to define such a test,'' the bosses wrote. ''Frankly, such an approach is quite unacceptable as the basis for managing billions of dollars in asset value in the media sector and will compromise those asset values (and accordingly Australian and international equity holders) negatively - this is both unfair and inequitable.''

Letters addressed to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader commend the Coalition for its public support of press freedom.

They claim if the government's public interest test (which could apply to the Fairfax majority stakeholder Gina Rinehart) is approved, there would be a ''massive increase in regulation'' on ''subjective, vague and imprecise'' grounds, which would stymie free speech.

''While a 'public interest test' may have an appealing-sounding ring to it, it is really, in our view, nothing more than a political interest,'' the bosses argue.

''It has the capacity to be misused by politicians of all persuasions to block the acquisition of media companies by people they do not agree with or simply do not like.''

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A wordy attempt to save free speech