First Nations Media News October 2021

Announced by Screen Australia and Screen NSW as one to watch as a producer, Aaliyah has been attached to Australia Film juggernauts such as Made-Up Stories, ABC and award-winning Documentaries.

Aaliyah has worked at the Australia Council for the Arts, and the National Indigenous Arts and Cultural Authority (NIACA), as well as holding various roles across NGOs and Government organisations. Aaliyah is currently writing a series of Children books to be released in 2022.

Got any suggestions or ideas?
We would love to hear your suggestions or ideas for sessions that you would like to see at the next Converge to make it even bigger and better than before. If you would like to contribute your suggestions, please contact Aaliyah on converge@firstnationsmedia.org.au
Registrations will be announced soon for both in person and online delegates, so watch this space!

A reminder that the First Nations Media Australia nominations are now open for the 2021 First Nations Media Awards.

This year, First Nations media organisations have been working harder than ever promoting our sector, sharing breaking news from communities and, telling our stories, our histories, and truths. This is your opportunity to nominate content on all platforms, to recognise the incredible people in our sector and to recognise the work being done within media organisations to support the delivery of the amazing content produced all year round.

If you have questions or get stuck with the nomination process at any point, contact jenni@firstnationsmedia.org.au or call 08 8952 6465.

Nominations close on 22nd October 2021

Let’s get started….

First Nations Media Australia is working with the Department of Health to support 18 First Nations media organisations around the country to produce content that encourages local communities to get vaccinated. The content produced will feature local and trusted voices sharing their own vaccination stories and motivations, discussing audience questions and concerns, addressing misinformation and sharing vaccine information. The campaign features television, radio, online and social media content aimed to go deeper than the 30 second sponsorship campaigns going to air, and to tailor messaging and conversations to local contexts. See an example video from Wilcannia River Radio here.

FNMA has provided feedback to the ACMA on proposed changes to the B66 form to streamline license renewal processes. While some minor amendments have been suggested, FNMA is pleased with the overall direction the ACMA is taking to simplify the process and reduce levels of administrative burden for both licensees and the regulator. FNMA also responded to the NIAA’s Indigenous Skills, engagement and employment program discussion paper outlining the ways in which First Nations media organisations provide culturally safe working environments to foster career development and opportunities for Government to build on existing programs by investing in the implementation of the First Nations media sector’s Workforce Development Plan as a contribution to the closing the gap employment objectives. These submissions can be viewed on our website here. FNMA has contributed to two discussion-based consultations on the Regional Telecommunications Review and will be making a written submission this week.

The value of First Nations media is something we see every day, but something that has been difficult to demonstrate in a sector-wide sense with very limited resourcing for surveys and research. However, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap outlines a number of data development opportunities to help understand how First Nations media contributes to closing the gap and ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their own lives. We are working with the Lowitja Institute to conduct a data scan of available research collected in each jurisdiction, then make recommendations for how to pull some of that research together in a more holistic way and what work is required to fill any gaps in the information available to the sector. This work is about showing the difference representation in media makes in people lives. And we’re hoping it will provide data to First Nations media organisations to help demonstrate your value to sponsors, funders and other potential partners. More to come.

Infrastructure Audit Project Manager, Wayne Bynder has been out on the road in WA working with members face-to-face to understand their equipment set-ups and collect information for the audit.
Wayne started his journey in Perth at Noongar Radio to discuss the Station’s equipment before heading up to the Kimberley’s to Waringarri Media in Kununurra. The crew at Waringarri Media have built an impressive media centre, which is a long way from the humble beginnings of the late 1980s.
Next stop was Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing to visit Radio 6PRK and Wangki Radio. Radio 6PRK Station Manager, Annabelle highlighted the need for support from the industry, so between Wayne, Annabelle and Indi Wood, Station Manager at Wangki Radio they engaged in a positive discussion on cross broadcasting programs between the two stations. Both towns in the region share a people of all the language groups so this made sense on many levels. Wayne also had the opportunity to call the football while at Wangki Radio.
After completing the audit at Wangki, Wayne headed off to 6DBY in Derby before travelling to Broome to visit PAKAM and Goolarri Media. Wayne was impressed with the set up at Goolarri Media, Wayne said “I can’t help but be struck by the knowledge and expertise built up about new equipment and new ways to do things our industry has, and most are young people!” Thank you to all of the radio stations and Station Managers visited on this trip.
Wayne and Kirstyn Lindsay are working on the Infrastructure Audit for the sector and while they can’t get to all media organisations in the country, they need all the Asset Register lists to make this audit project a success. Please send yours through to Kirstyn Lindsay if you haven’t already.

Steve Bunbadgee Hodder Watt is a Lardil man from Gununa (Mornington Island) and has lived in remote and regional central Australia for over 30 years.

Steve will be joining the Archiving Project team as the Digitisation Support Officer, providing assistance to First Nations communities to assess and manage digitisation of their media archives.

He has worked predominantly in First Nations media for over 20 years with CAAMA Radio, Central Land Council, Mirndiyan Gununa, PAW Media, NITV and IndigenousX.

TSIMA has revitalised the Torres News, bringing the newspaper back into circulation after it had merged with the Cape News in 2019. Published weekly and based on Waiben, Thursday Island, the newspaper focusses specifically on news stories from the Torres Strait and NPA regions of Australia.

This is a great initiative to expand TSIMA’s radio activities to print and to bring back the much-loved newspaper for the Torres Strait Islander communities. For more information visit the TSIMA website here.

Congratulations to 3KND on the BIG funding announcement from the Victorian Government last week. 3KND has been given $4.4 million from the Victorian Government to establish a new media centre.

The 3KND Media Centre, to be housed in Preston, will strengthen 3KND’s broadcasting capacity and create more opportunities for employment, training and mentoring.

In announcing the grant, Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams said 3KND provides the Victorian Aboriginal community with around-the-clock broadcasting in a positive and culturally appropriate way, as well as specialist training in media and broadcasting.

First Nations Media Industry Huddle participants recently heard from Nancia Guivarra, Meg Montgomery & Ben Cheong from Facebook, who presented on the Buy Blak Summit for Indigenous Business Month, a free virtual event for First Nations small business owners, as part of Indigenous Business Month in October.

The free online event is for all First Nations entrepreneurs who want to boost their Blak-owned business and reach new customers online. The event can provide practical training designed to support founders and entrepreneurs to get the most out of Facebook and Instagram to meet their business goals.

The event will take place at 9:30am AEDT on Wednesday 13 October. For more information, click here. #buyBlakSummit & #BuyBlakFriday

At the recent Industry Huddle meeting, Helen Bloustein, Tammy Hunter, Andrea Peace & Shenagh Gamble from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) presented a refresher on their current Bureau resources that may be useful to our members. Seventeen seasonal community calendar resources are currently available on the Indigenous Weather Knowledge website and BOM weather app, with three still due to be made. The website formally recognises traditional weather and climate knowledge that has been developed and passed down through countless generations by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The BOM website can be accessed here

BOM will also be creating an Innovation RAP which will be developed in November.

The Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership is offering free online Masterclasses this month. Two courses that may be of interest to our industry are Strategy with Jyi Lawton and Marketing & Social Media with Leesa Watego
The online sessions create a space to develop new ideas for the future of your business while learning from trailblazing First Nations business leaders and connecting with a national network of First Nations business owners.
To find out more information, click here.

First Nations Tutor - AFTRS, Sydney NSW, Teaching remotely via Zoom
Amrap Support Officer - CBAA, Sydney NSW, Flexible

Senior Radio Broadcaster - 4RRFM, Charleville QLD

inDigiMOB is looking for two employees (identified positions - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander - one male, one female) to help with an online safety project for the next 18 months. The candidates will need to have a basic understanding of online safety issues and the steps to take to avoid viruses and scams. They will also need to have experience running small workshops or training sessions and be familiar with video conferencing tools such as Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet, etc. The ability to travel to regional/remote communities for a week at a time is also necessary (however this will only be required once every 2 or 3 months).
Location is flexible but SA, WA or Darwin applicants preferred. Hours are also flexible - 3 days a week up to full-time.
Applications can be sent to jenni@firstnationsmedia.org.au and close Friday 22 October.
For more information please contact Ben at info@indigimob.com.au or on 0448 721 635.