This report in The Australian would be music to Rupert Murdoch's ears.   The paltry state of competition for News Ltd in the Australian news market is no good for anyone. 

The Australian can reveal Mrs Rinehart has approached business associates for suggestions on who could better manage or sit on the board of the newspaper publisher in the event that she did decide to launch a takeover bid for Fairfax.

The Australian understands Mrs Rinehart, who is worth $20.01 billion, would be more likely to buy Fairfax if she could find someone who had a strong vision to improve its future earnings.

Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has a 14.99 per cent stake in Fairfax, but chief executive Greg Hywood and chairman Roger Corbett have refused to give her a seat on the board. They have allowed her a representative director: business leader Jack Cowin, who is her long-time friend.

According to the Australian Corporations Act, if Mrs Rinehart’s stake went above 20 per cent, she would need to declare her intentions regarding a full takeover of the company.

Observers say Mrs Rinehart would be likely to call an extraordinary general meeting and vote to appoint a new chairman and board because the board would no longer be representative of the majority shareholder.

Mr Corbett and Mr Hywood would be unlikely to keep their positions, with Mrs Rinehart and her advisers most unhappy with the decline in value of the company’s key assets, such as radio stations, and the performance of its newspapers — as well as the company’s uncertain future.

“It is frustrating for Gina, who has had enormous success in business, to be watching one of her more public investments going so badly,’’ a source said.

“She genuinely wants the company to do well and needs people who can go in and fix it.

“There’s a question over how long she can tolerate seeing Fairfax heading the way it’s going without taking action or getting out.”