For the seventh time in less than 70 years, a report has been commissioned by the Government which has dealt with concerns about the press. 1 It was sparked by public revulsion about a single action – the hacking of the mobile phone of a murdered teenager. From that beginning, the scope of the Inquiry...

Chaired by Glen Boreham, this report sets out the Convergence Review Committee's vision for fundamental change to the regulatory framework of Australia's digital economy and identifies key areas for reform.

Peter Andren MP, the Independent member for Calare, considers the impact of the recent changes to media law on media diversity in rural areas. The laws, which will allow a single owner to control both television and newspapers in a particular market, will see, he says, an end to local content in rural areas.

Media owners appear to be scrambling to take advantage of new legislative changes. And amid the flurry, a deal confirmed yesterday between James Packer's PBL company and a group called CVC Asia Pacific has suddenly given Mr Packer an awful lot of ready money for investment, billions of dollars of it.

The government is likely to introduce its media reform legislation into parliament this week, but what's not in the Bills might be as important as what is, writes Jock Given.