Local media content important, says PM

Any change to media ownership laws will not unduly dilute local news coverage in regional Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

The federal government is looking into relaxing the laws, which prevent a single media company owning a newspaper and a commercial TV and radio broadcasting licence in the same city.

The laws also prevent commercial free-to-air TV networks reaching more than three-quarters of the population.

Mr Abbott said the government was open to change.

"It would be change in a deregulatory direction but we are simply consulting at this time," he told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

The change would require "a broad consensus about its direction" and it was important "an appropriate level" of local content was maintained, he said.

"It's important that we work with people to ensure that this reasonably continues.

"But I just want to stress that the main job of government right now is not to run around with a clipboard trying to micromanage Australians' lives."