News chief Kim Williams 'troubled' at ABC's foray into online coverage

NEWS Limited CEO Kim Williams says the ABC is not a news-breaking organisation and is 'troubled' over the broadcaster's foray into online media.

Kim Williams

NEWS Limited CEO Kim Williams says the ABC is not a news-breaking organisation and has expressed concern over the broadcaster's foray into online media.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News' Australian Agenda program, Mr Williams said the ABC was "misplaced and misconceived in a lot of what it does".

"It breaks remarkably few stories relative to the amount of money invested in it," Mr Williams said.

"We (News Ltd) break thousands of stories a year. The ABC breaks dozens.

"The ABC is not a major news-breaking organisation other than occasionally on the 7.30 Report, occasionally on Four Corners and occasionally on Lateline, but that's it."

Mr Williams said he was "troubled" that the ABC appeared to be increasing its online presence at a time when the nation's major newspapers were also upping their digital stakes.

"I am troubled by the fact that in many of its online offerings the ABC competes without actually having any of the accountability that its commercial counterparts do have," he said.

"And that's clearly awkward in an environment where many costs are pressured and where many employment pressures arise from that."

On last week's dual restructuring announcements by Fairfax and News Ltd, Mr Williams rejected comments from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy that newspapers would be extinct within five years.

"I am committed to our company being fluid in all media and that includes print media," he said.

"I think newspapers will be around for a very long time."

Mr Williams also took aim at the Finkelstein media inquiry and said any attempt by the government to interfere in the running of print media would be a "deliberate act of sabotage of free speech".

The Finkelstein review called for the creation of a statutory super regulator embracing print, radio, television and online media, including blogs receiving as few as 43 hits a day.

Tony Abbott last week said such a body would harm the media. However, the government is yet to formally issue its response.

"I found it troubling that the Finkelstein recommendations did not receive the extraordinarily ferocious response that they deserved and I fear that most people didn't read it," Mr Williams said.

"I found it (the report) a remarkably superficial, at times quite trivial and entirely poorly argued piece of work. If you can call it work."

News Ltd is the parent company of the publisher of The Australian.