THE gloves have come off in the battle for control of Fairfax Media with major shareholder Gina Rinehart and the company exchanging increasingly personal salvos about their differences, and the future of the company.

In a flurry of heated exchanges yesterday afternoon, prompted by this week's Fairfax rejection of Mrs Rinehart's board tilt, the Perth-based mining magnate called on chairman Roger Corbett to agree to a ''performance milestone'' of returning the company's share price to 87 and reversing ''the five-year decline in paid circulation and revenue''. In a letter to Mr Corbett, she said he should resign if he failed to achieve the goals by November.

But Fairfax rejected the ultimatum. Instead, it called on her to launch a takeover for the company.

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''If Mrs Rinehart wants control of Fairfax Media she must make a bid. Mrs Rinehart's letter today has once and for all unmasked her motives for her continual attacks on the company and its board,'' adding that the company's readers would abandon the group's mastheads ''if Mrs Rinehart succeeds in this personal crusade''.

Later in the evening, one of Mrs Rinehart key executives, John Klepec, took issue with the Fairfax response, saying: ''Mrs Rinehart has repeatedly advised that she would not use the publications to promote her private interests only. It is hence incorrect for Fairfax to endeavour to allege that this has been a 'personal crusade'."

Mrs Rinehart had ''never sought control of Fairfax,'' he added.

Earlier, Mrs Rinehart dismissed the board's assertion that editorial independence was the main sticking point. ''Where we have differed most profoundly is not over the charter of editorial independence, contrary to much Fairfax reporting, but over how to save a business that is reportedly in danger of dying.''

But the company - owner of this newspaper - disagreed: ''Contrary to Mrs Rinehart's repeated assertions that this isn't about editorial control - it is. It is also about her obtaining control of the company and not paying a premium.''

Mrs Rinehart said the performance of Fairfax over the past five years had been ''distressing for shareholders''.

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Fairfax Media, Rinehart board stoush gets personal