By TANYA DENNING
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Indigenous peoples are the oldest culture in the world, with a storytelling tradition that has informed over thousands of years. News events were told through the passing of message sticks form clan to clan and nation to nation. As times changed so did the passing of information from message sticks to letters, telegraph, radio and now television. However, as time passed the passing of information was no longer controlled by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, but mainly by non-Indigenous Australians, with little knowledge, understanding or sympathy for Indigenous issues or for the people in general.
With the agenda of assimilation and dispossession, the misrepresentation of Indigenous images was widespread within the Australian media and still persists today. The reporting on Indigenous people educated and informed a general population who rarely socialized with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people creating images of a dysfunctional Indigenous society.
Indigenous began challenging the negative media that gave little attention to positive imagery of their culture. They did this not by changing mainstream media perceptions, but by creating their own organizations to present the Indigenous voice.
During the seventies of last century, Aboriginal Medical Centres and Aboriginal Legal Services started sprouting up across the country, as well as education programs encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait to gain university degrees. Calls for government accountability through increasing investments in Indigenous peoples aspirations was also growing louder, and it was only time that Indigenous people started to set up community radio stations, programs and television which includes NITV.
In 2007, National Indigenous Television (NITV) was formed to give Indigenous peoples a voice. This voice included the traditional practice of sending a message, but through new technology. Part of this voice was the station’s vision to set up its own Indigenous news service. In 2008, the service began as a ‘rip-n -read’ five-minute update and evolved into a 15-minute bulletin in 2010.
In February, the service will launch into a half-hour nightly bulletin with more Indigenous reporters operating across Australia. The growth of the news service came after audience research indicated that it was trusted amongst Indigenous viewers.
 ...the passing of information was not controlled by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, but mainly by non-Indigenous Australians, with little knowledge, understanding or sympathy for Indigenous issues... |
Indigenous issues remain a regular topic in newsrooms across the country but NITV is providing the only coverage that is controlled by Indigenous editorial staff. The continued coverage of Indigenous issues on NITV News allows all voices and perspectives to be heard. Stories are handled with the appropriate cultural sensitivities often missed by mainstream newsrooms. For a news service to work effectively it needs the support and trust of its community and the timing now couldn’t be better.
NITV News provides the coverage of Indigenous stories that other networks ignore. During the 2010 Australian Federal Election, Indigenous issues barely rated a mention across all forms of news media. It wasn’t until NITV News broadcasted an election special providing interviews with key politicians on Indigenous issues that the topic was placed on the news agenda.
One of our biggest challenges is finding experienced Indigenous journalist, especially with television experience. Through our enquiries, we have also found there are a shortage of Indigenous people studying journalism at universities – for example, in Western Australia, one institute told us that many Indigenous high school students are going into law or medicine, while the rest are going into mining jobs, which can offer big money.
The number of journalists within the Sydney newsroom has more than doubled in recent months to produce the new half-hour NITV News, these including reporters based at new bureaus in Brisbane, Perth as well as in Canberra Parliament House. However, with only 11 full-time reporters, the news service is still a lean operation but the efficient production model is essential not only for the growth of NITV News but will also be the key to its success.
All NITV journalists are trained as video journalists, they know how to film as well as report and conduct interviews. Our partnership with Sky News, offers us access to file footage and press releases from Channels Seven and Nine, as well as Sky. However, NITV News scripts, produces and edits all stories and always with a focus on the Indigenous angle.
NITV has access to Sky News studios in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, enabling us to do live and prerecording interviews. We are currently recruiting two new journalists who will work out of Brisbane and Perth. We also have a bureau in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra. These bureau journalists will not only go out and cover stories in their respective cities, but will also do nightly two-way crosses into the bulletin on big issues affecting their states.
As the bulletin expands, NITV plans to do more current affairs-style feature stories, giving us the opportunity to explore in depth the big issues affecting Indigenous Australia.
NITV’s election coverage focused very much on what all the major parties were offering Indigenous Australians; on seats and electorates where there is a large population of Indigenous voters; Indigenous people who were running as candidates; as well as an election special (in partnership with Sky News) that hosted a debate with members of the three major parties on Indigenous issues.
The trusted reputation the NITV News has within the community has led it to become the place our people go to first to break their news. The reputation extends to other news networks who often seek vision, views, and reports from the journalists at NITV.
Executive Producer and Presenter, Natalie Ahmat, is often invited to appear as a studio guest on Sky News to offer an Indigenous perspective when Sky News is covering national events that have an Indigenous element. After Ken Wyatt, the first Indigenous member of parliament, made his historic maiden speech to the House of Representatives; Ahmat appeared on Australia Day, to talk about what the day means to Indigenous Australians. From time to time, NITV News packages are also broadcasted on Sky News.
The growth of news suppliers will extend beyond Australia with NITV’s participation in the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network’s program exchange scheme. Throughout 2011, NITV news and associated programs will broadcast International Indigenous news and WITBN partners will benefit with more ground coverage from Australia’s Indigenous communities.
In 2011, NITV’s news service will also introduce MoJo’s – mobile journalist, a new generation of freelance journalist based within regional and remote Indigenous communities. This will help NITV grow our capacity for citizen journalism, and provide a channel for sharing Indigenous voices from the ground up.
NITV is proud to be the first Australian channel to provide the airtime to Indigenous News, however, finding the resources to handle the growth has been challenging. NITV’s newsroom is a multi-skilled environment with journalists operating as camera operators and editors to get their stories on air.
It was not easy to grow NITV’s news service from zero to 30 minutes. Yet, we now have a news service with a strong and trusted foundation. 2011 will see the successful growth of NITV as we share more Indigenous stories with more homes across Australia and the world.
ENDS
Tanya Denning is the director of content at NITV. Denning has worked in the media industry for more than a decade in fields spanning from community broadcasting to executive television production and management. Her media career began after completing a Bachelor of Arts at Rockhampton, in Central Queensland, in 1996. Denning worked as a presenter/producer in community radio in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney before completing an ABC Journalism cadetship that extended her career into online, TV and Radio production for ABC and SBS.
In May 2007, Denning joined National Indigenous Television as one of its first Commissioning Editors, managing the distribution of all programs on NITV, including the daily news service and the weekly live football shows.
Denning’s inquisitive passion for the world has led her into various media positions both nationally and internationally. A proud Birri woman from Central and Northern Queensland, Denning has been rewarded by industry groups for her work and continues to be recognized for her contribution to media and the Indigenous community.
