Fairfax Media's largest shareholder Gina Rinehart has signalled that she is prepared to acknowledge the company's editorial charter.
Mrs Rinehart's refusal so far to submit to the charter of editorial independence has been a stumbling block in the mining magnate's attempt to gain any board seat at Fairfax.
The turnaround comes as the beleaguered publisher holds a board meeting in Sydney where Mrs Rinehart's tilt for up to three board seats is expected to be discussed.
The chief development officer of Mrs Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, John Klepec, said Hancock was "prepared to acknowledge" Fairfax's board governance principles existed "subject as they must be, to the overriding fiduciary duties of directors".
However, Mr Klepec said those principles had been "repeatedly overridden in the past", and cited the example where journalists were ordered to support Earth Hour.
