Rinehart: Andrew Bolt is one of our best journalists

Mining billionaire and freshly-elected Channel Ten director Gina Rinehart has pleaded with Andrew Bolt to continue hosting The Bolt Report in 2012 despite the show's dismal ratings performance.

Speaking after Ten's annual meeting in Sydney, Rinehart said Bolt was "one of the best journalists, radio people and now TV people in Australia so I hope if his time permits, he continues," Fairfax papers report today. "He has a lot of pressing things on his time and I really hope that he still finds time to give Ten some time next year as well."

Last Friday, Rinehart was elected to Ten's board, the first time she has been elected to the board of a listed company.

In her candidate speech, Rinehart talked up the value of owner-directors as they have "more skin in the game" and are better placed to "monitor and where necessary discipline the management of the company".

She also boasted that she had been awarded a global leadership award ('Masterclass CEO of the Year') and been named Telstra Businesswoman of the Year.

The Hancock Resources executive chairman bought a 10% stake in the network last November to ensure she has a voice in the national debate, her spokesman John McRobert said at the time.

The Bolt Report has widely been seen as an attempt by Rinehart to wield political influence by proxy given Bolt shares her strong anti-mining tax and anti-carbon tax views.

The show's 10am Sunday broadcast has lost almost a third of its audience since it started in May with 163,000 viewers.

The December 4 episode of The Bolt Report pulled 115,000 viewers compared to 185,000 for the ABC's Sunday political chat show Insiders.

Channel Ten Managing Director Lachlan Murdoch, profiled last week as No.8 on our Media Maestros list, said The Bolt Report had been a "terrific show".