Fairfax Media will not offer Gina Rinehart a seat on the board, chairman Roger Corbett says.

The company has just released a statement saying that an agreement had not been reached "on terms acceptable to the company. I regret that agreement has not been reached for Mrs Rinehart to join the Fairfax Media board of directors," Mr Corbett said.

"I hope that this might be possible in the future. However, key elements yet to be agreed include acceptance of the charter of editorial independence as it stands and the Fairfax board governance principles as agreed by all existing directors."

The statement follows remarks by Hancock Prospecting today.