The committee has asked for written submissions on a range of issues affecting local and regional newspapers, and TV and radio broadcasters. It will also look at the "opportunities and implications" of BBC partnerships with local media organisations.
Earlier this month, ITV revealed it expects to save up to £7m a year through plans to co-locate many of its regional news services with those of the BBC. The two organisations have discussed how they could work together to secure the future of regional news on ITV1.
On Wednesday, in a letter to culture secretary Andy Burnham, the Society of Editors asked him to look at preventing content aggregators such as Google from profiting from third-party news content without payment.
Yesterday, the Conservative Party announced plans to help local newspaper publishers by allowing them to consolidate with each other.
Party leader David Cameron said it was time to remove the bureaucratic rules because papers were closing and staff were being made redundant in the face of falling advertising revenue and competition from the internet and local authority free sheets.
He argued the move would give local newspapers more freedom to "adapt to the digital world" and to develop new business models for the 21st century.
All submissions to the inquiry must be received by 13 May.
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