The Morrison government commissioned two reports on the regional broadcasting sector in six months.Credit:Jessica Hromas
In her report,Ms Brownlow agreed with the view of regional broadcasting executives,laying out the dire state of the sector and a need for regulatory change to prevent closures in the near-term,which can be defined as the next 12-18 months.
Sources familiar with the report's findings said Ms Brownlow,who was paid $11,200 for the research,set out a list of recommendations including the removal of media laws,which would allow for mergers and acquisitions in television,print and radio to salvage regional newsrooms.
The recommendations also included the removal of the one-to-a-market rule,which prevents a television broadcaster from operating more than one TV licence in a market and the relaxation of the voices test,which in regional areas requires four separate media companies to operate.
"While political unpalatable...the alternative was zero - the demise of the regional broadcasting industry,"one industry source familiar with Ms Brownlow's report said.
But industry sources familiar with KordaMentha's research said it painted a far rosier picture of the regional broadcasting sector,indicating that the companies would not shutdown properly until the middle of the decade,a finding that contradicted Ms Brownlow's research.
It is unclear why a second report was commissioned,but sources indicated that one potential reason was to see whether a regulatory change - proposed by Ms Brownlow - could be avoided,or to seek further clarification on whether the sector was as challenged as it appeared.
A spokesman for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher declined to comment.