Soon media conglomerates may be able to own all three hallowed mediums of newspaper, television and radio, if the Turnbull government’s expected ‘relaxation’ of media ownership gets through Parliament.

In an era when print circulations are mainly declining, lobbyists advocating for the law overhaul believe the current legislations are outdated in the digital age. The Government is currently drafting proposed legislative changes.

The amendment to allow corporations to own all three platforms will likely usher a new round of media mergers.

Fairfax and News Corp’s are already thinking of combining printing facilities. The two media outlets have long been ultra rivals, but declining newspaper print revenue has called for new dynamics.

Labor powerbrokers such as industry spokesman Kim Carr and former treasurer Wayne Swan are said to be concerned the law change will unfairly advantage the Murdoch corporation, which publishes newspapers such as The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

It was the relaxation of the cross-media ownership laws in the 1980s under Robert Hawke which led Murdoch to control much of Australia’s printed newspapers.                                                                                                             

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