'What happened in the UK can't happen hear!'

So it’s official, there will be an inquiry into Australia’s print and online media.

Ray Finkelstein, a former Federal Court judge will lead the independent inquiry and will be assisted by former journalist and academic Mathew Ricketson.

This weeks class discussions on ‘Freedom of the Press ‘hacked’ to death… or the end of the news as we know it?’ couldn’t have come at a more convenient and indeed juicy time.

Its no surprise that the recent news hacking scandal in the UK was the dominant point of discussion. 

And while not everyone in class seemed to agree, am I the only one who thinks its just a bit too coincidental that mere months after arguably one of the biggest media scandals in recent times that it is now that Australia chooses a media enquiry?

Isn't it a given?

It's surprising to me then that so many people seemed to strongly oppose the enquiry; which just makes me wonder, what have you got to hide?

One of the questions raised in class was whether or not the recent phone hacking scandal in the UK weakened Australia's trust with its media. 

I have to say for me at least it definitely did.

So when the media enquiry was first proposed it was certainly interesting to see the different reactions. 

In a nutshell, those opposing the enquiry (mainly members of the media itself) see it as a threat to the freedom of the press. 

I find this a bit of a contradiction, considering after all the incredible concentration of Australia's media content. 

I think Jeremy Seer of Crikey makes a good point when he says that:

"Just what kind of freedom of the press can we have when one company controls more than half of it? What kind of freedom of the press do we have when the barriers to entry are high? It might not be difficult to start a website, but what about the many Australians whose only source of news is the printed newspaper or the broadcast media?"

However while the exact terms of reference are not yet known, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has said that the enquiry will not target News Limited and that the reasons go far beyond just issues of ownership. 

"Quality Journalism is under threat in this country. 

"Not because of any individual or any organisation. Technological change is sweeping across the sector," he said. 

On the other side and perhaps in a less surprising statement, News Limited themselves have slammes the enquiry as regrettable.

 “This inquiry started life as a witch-hunt by the Greens and has morphed into a fairly
narrow look at a mixed bag of issues ostensibly focussed on print journalism,” News Ltd CEO John Hartigan said.

“Any substantive inquiry into the media should cover all media and all media equally,
particularly if it intends to investigate the need for a new overarching regulatory
system".

What do you think?

No matter what side of the fence you sit on the next few months are sure to be interesting!