"The other directors represent basically no per cent of the shareholders, they don't stand to gain or lose," he said. "They can make horrendous mistakes and not suffer any financial penalty." Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood announces 1900 redundancies. Credit:Wolter Peeters Mr Singleton's comments come a day after Fairfax revealed plans to shed as many as 1900 jobs over three years, close key printing sites and shrink the metropolitan broadsheet newspapers to a more compact size. Editorial influence Mrs Rinehart has demanded three seats on the board and is understood to be asking for the deputy chairmanship of the company.

She is also believed to have told the Fairfax board that as a major shareholder she and her representatives should not be restricted when it comes to editorial matters - including the hiring and firing of editors, which contravenes the charter of editorial independence. The billionaire miner, a strong opponent of the mining and carbon taxes, has built up a stake of almost 19 per cent in Fairfax and is expected to increase it further. Mr Singleton said journalists supporting Fairfax's charter of independence - which serves as a firewall between commercial and editorial operations - may not understand the circumstances surrounding its creation in 1992. "That Fairfax independence was written by Sir Zelman Cowen when I was on the board, it was just one of those … things that no one understood," he said. "Sir Zelman was very proud of and the journalists didn't know how to say no to Sir Zelman, even though they don't know what he's talking about." Mr Singleton's Macquarie Radio Network had been in talks with Fairfax earlier this year to purchase the company's radio stations.

Rival News Ltd is expected to announce a similar restructuring, including big job losses, in coming days, as the sector reacts to a sharp decline in traditional advertising revenue and the emergence of new media. Asked if Mrs Rinehart would make a better proprietor for Fairfax, Mr Singleton praised her writing on the need to allow more migration for mining jobs in Western Australia. "I'm biased. I've known Gina since she was a little girl and I was very close to her dad [Lang Hancock]," said Mr Singleton. "[But] I think the pieces she wrote for … media on Saturday about Australia's trying need for employment in the face of all the unemployment we have and with all the people stuck in refugee camps, clamouring for freedom and for work, was a wonderful piece of work." Mr Singleton expressed surprise that it wasn't published in The Sydney Morning Herald. Ms Rinehart publishes a column in the Australian Resources & Investment magazine.

'Crisis of confidence' Concerns about Mrs Rinehart's intentions for Fairfax, as well as her suitability as an owner, have triggered a barrage of warnings by politicians and media observers. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said that, while Australia's richest person was entitled to representation on the Fairfax board, the media outlet's independence should not be compromised. "What she's not entitled to do is trash the brand for all the other shareholders," he told ABC radio today. Senator Conroy said an independent charter of editorial independence had been supported over many years by the company's board.

"If she was to directly interfere and breach that charter it would actually lead to a crisis of confidence among the readership," he said. "If the readership deserted, then the share price for every shareholder would decline." Senator Conroy was responding to reports Mrs Rinehart does not want to be limited by the charter. Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce also expressed concern for the outcome of the Rinehart's share purchases, as Fairfax restructures. "Don't think politicians protect democracy," he told reporters in Canberra.

"It's the transparency of the fourth estate that is the protector of the nation's democracy," he said. Greens push Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said new laws were needed to protect editorial independence. "I think we should find ways of making it mandatory in publicly listed companies that charter of independence is actually signed and upheld," she told reporters in Canberra. "I think that is a critical thing we could be looking at."

Her colleague Scott Ludlam expressed concern Fairfax Media could be reduced to a mining industry newsletter. "We all value the diversity of media markets we have in Australia, and it is very important we don't lose that," he said. Senator Ludlam and his lower house colleague Adam Bandt unveiled a plan to protect the editorial independence of Fairfax and other media outlets in Canberra this morning. Loading Fairfax shares were down half a cent to 64.5 cents in early trading after rising 4.5 cents yesterday.

With AAP