First Nations Media | Converge 2023!!! | FNMA Staff Update | FNMA Staff Planning | Round Table Update | FNMA is Hiring | Membership Jobs & Updates | Opportunities | Funding

Representatives from across the First Nations media industry will gather this November on Ngambri/Ngunnawal Country for CONVERGE, Canberra ACT, the national First Nations media conference.

CONVERGE is an annual event bringing together First Nations Media Australia members and stakeholders from across Australia with delegates engaging in forums, discussions and industry showcases to share knowledge and experience in this key networking event.

More information to come! Our exciting program is developing and updates will be shared as the details are finalised.

For more information and to become a sponsor please email here.

In June, FNMA staff came together in Mparntwe Alice Springs to plan for the coming year in a two-day workshop facilitated by Joanna Hendryks. With FNMA staff located all over the continent, these face-to-face meetings are vital to promoting positive working relationships amongst our team.

Highlights of the workshop were: a cultural orientation conducted by Eastern Arrernte linguist, Veronica Perrule Dobson and her daughter, educator Camille Dobson; a communications strategy mapping session with community technologist, Caddie Brain, and; an online presentation from former FNMA Chair, Dot West on FNMA’s history and our Calls for Action.

First Nations Media Australia has farewelled some staff members and welcomed some new faces on board.

We are pleased to announce and extend a very warm welcome to:

Donna Woods who has returned to FNMA as the new Operations Manager
Principal Project Officer, Liam Kenna
Project & Policy Officer Corinne Wilmot, and
indigiTUBE Project Officer Gavin Ivey.

We also bid farewell to the following staff members over June and July:

From our InDIgiMOB team, Project Manager Ben Smede, Project Officer Metta Young and Digital Project Officer Wayne Bynder, as well as
Senior Policy Officer Eleanor Hogan and Research Policy Officer Robin Gregory.

FNMA thanks these staff members for their contributions and wishes them all the best in their next ventures.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) has told FNMA that it will include a section on the FN-specific broadcast licence in a discussion paper regarding regulatory and legislative matters during the second phase of its Sustainability Review of the community broadcasting sector in July/August 2023, with a report to be submitted to the Minister by the end of September.

The FNMA Policy Team circulated an online survey to canvas members’ views on the proposed Indigenous Broadcasting Licence and access to spectrum on 14 June. The survey closed on 20 July.

Information collected from the survey is anonymous and de-identified. Results will be aggregated and presented at the next Industry Huddle as a starting point for further discussion relating to Indigenous spectrum and licensing to inform FNMA’s policy response to the legislative/regulative reform paper.

On 16 May 2023, FNMA staff (Eleanor Hogan, Robin Gregory, Ben Smede and Ben Pridmore) along with Laurie May from ICTV participated in the Australian Government’s Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts Roundtable on mobile infrastructure and telecommunications in remote and rural areas, which was held in Alice Springs. They were joined via teleconference by Neil Turner from PAKAM and Ian James from Wangki Yupurnanupurru Radio.

The Committee was interested in hearing stories and examples from FNMA and our members about telecommunications and broadcast issues in remote and very remote areas. You can download the Roundtable transcript here.

A new group of trainee Reporters has been recruited to the FNMA News Initiative project and have headed off to Batchelor Institute on August 6 for a week long training session in photography, audio and video production.

There were many applications this year, so the selection was a challenge. The trainees come from Roebourne, Broome, Townsville, Alice Springs, Darwin, Elcho Island, Melbourne and Wollongong. It’s a terrific mix of age and location.

We have already begun weekly Master Classes, with the first sessions conducted by Nathan Stitt and Miriam Corowa from the ABC. Training will continue over the next 6 months in multi-media journalism.

We are looking forward to a whole batch of news stories coming out of these regional and city communities in the future.

The Archive Project team is settling into the new space in the FNMA building which neighbours the AIATSIS development, located in the centre of town.

The team have restarted digitising the old audio and video tapes, saving the old footage to digital drives. With new equipment coming that will assist us in our work, we have added more digital storage space to archive the material.

"It’s been so good to see so much wonderful footage and listening to the audio programs. The media platform in the early days was the voice for First Nations People to express their concerns and visions for their future, so it's good we can preserve it". FNMA Archiving Project Manager, Steve Tranter.

As mentioned in last month's newsletter, indigiTUBE was successful in securing an ABC Secondment position for 2 weeks. Triple J's special projects producer Celline Narinli was the successful ABC applicate.

Celline worked alongside indigiTUBE Manager Paula Maling from her Little Bay office in late June and was welcomed to Bidjigal country (La Perouse NSW) by Aunty Barb Simms. Celline's expert advice, support and work around music festivals and indigiTUBE's social media platforms was of great value and she also created a new Spotify and TikTok account for the platform.

Huge thanks goes out to Celline, as well as ABC's Bronwyn Purvis and Karla Ranby.

CMTO, 3KND and FNMA have partnered to offer an exciting training opportunity for First Nations broadcasters to get the skills to start a career in the Creative Industries, using 3KND as the hub. The Certificate III in Screen and Media is a hands-on course for workers and volunteers in community radio who want to upskill. Learners will explore working in the creative industries, planning, and presenting a radio program, researching, writing and editing content for broadcast and developing a social media presence. Read More.

The NTAFL made contact with TEABBA, asking if we would support them to ensure language speakers get an opportunity to participate in the AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs at TIO Stadium in Darwin. Laelia Dunn and Dion Apuatimi stepped up with TEABBA's John Ross Pearce-Scharnberg supporting in the broadcasting box. By chance ex TEABBA staff Thecla Brogan who now works for Telstra ( also a Tiwi lady) was there as well, and had the chance to grab a quick picture together, including Laelia's little one who didn't miss out on the action. Laelia was a local broadcaster in Pirlangimpi on the Tiwi Islands and is a current TEABBA Board Director.

Neil has been the manager of Pilbara and Kimberley Aboriginal Media since 1996. Before that he worked on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands for 11 years as Coordinator of Ernabella Video Television and Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Media. He was author of the 1998 National Report on the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme and worked on establishing the Indigenous Community Television and National Indigenous Television services. Neil received the Mr McKenzie Award for his contribution to remote Indigenous television in 2014. Currently serves as Secretary on the Board of ICTV. Read More.