Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has criticised the media for running a press freedom campaign, arguing news organisations were hypocritical because they ignored the public interest test by publishing a photograph of the former Nationals leader's pregnant partner.

The "Your Right to Know" campaign, a concerted push by the nation's biggest media companies to have Parliament enshrine press freedom and protect whistleblowers, launched on Sunday night with television advertisements detailing the suppression of information about aged care abuse.

The weeks-long campaign calls for six reforms concerning freedom of information laws, journalist search warrants, whistleblower protections and defamation laws.

Mr Joyce said the media "can't have it both ways" when discussing public interest reporting.