Australia’s biggest newspapers ran front pages have\u00a0made up to appear heavily redacted to protest against recent legislation that restricts press freedoms, a rare show of unity by the usually tribal media industry.<\/p>\n
Mastheads from the domestic unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, Australian Financial Review publisher Nine Entertainment and the website of the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corp show current news stories with most of the words blacked out.<\/p>\n
The protest was designed to put public pressure on the government to exempt journalists from laws restricting access to sensitive information, enact a properly functioning freedom of information system, and raise the benchmark for defamation lawsuits.<\/p>\n
"It’s about defending the basic right of every Australian to be properly informed about the important decisions the government is making in their name," Nine CEO Hugh Marks said in a statement.<\/p>\n
News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said people "should always be suspicious of governments that want to restrict their right to know what’s going on".<\/p>\n
Australia has no constitutional safeguards for free speech.<\/p>\n