Convergence Review moves ahead with five new discussion papers

The Convergence Review is seeking the public's views on five new discussion papers to help guide its deliberations of the future shape of Australia's media and communications sectors, with comments due by 28 October 2011.

As we noted last week, the Convergence Review is now a key element in the new media inquiry.

Media diversity, competition and market structure

This sets out four options to address media diversity:

• no change to current rules;
• broaden the scope of cross-media rules;
• retain the cross-media rules, and introduce a public interest test; or
• abolish the cross-media rules, and introduce a public interest test.

It also asks, among other matters:

• if creeping acquisitions in the media sector are a problem for media diversity;