Back in the late 1990s newsagents lost their monopoly in the distribution of newspapers. Newsagents had no say in the matter and were not assisted through the structural change by publishers or government. The result has been years of drifting with an outcome still not in sight. The focus of the changes was competition.
It is disappointing that at the pointy end of Australian media the government is not as focused on competition as it was with newsagents.
Rather than being told what to do by the few who control media and the pipelines which deliver access to media in this country, the government should remind itself of its obligation to competition and what is best for consumers.
I fear that Australia will be a media backwater unless the government changes its priorities. Their meddling is one reason our broadband take up has been slow; why digital television is failing; and, why media ownership is concentrated and therefore consumers less well informed.
Newsagents copped the competition push on the chin and have got on with business. Media companies need to do the same and the only way that will happen is if the government listens to and acts on its rhetoric.