First Nations Media News July 2021

Our new CEO, Dennis Stokes has begun work with First Nations Media Australia and has launched straight into meeting our industry stakeholders and getting across the various projects FNMA is delivering for our membership. This role is a return to both the First Nations media sector and the Northern Territory for Dennis.

Dennis is of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and comes from Darwin in the Northern Territory. He belongs to the Wardaman, Luritja and Warramunga people of the NT and the Wagadagam people of the Torres Strait. He will be known to many FNMA members through his work as a Production Assistant at SBS on Living Black and later as Content Division Manager at National Indigenous Television (NITV). Members may also have crossed paths with him in previous roles at the Australia Council for the Arts and Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Dennis has a strong background in the arts industry, working at Mimi Ngurrdalingi Aboriginal Corporation and contributing to NT Governments "Indigenous Arts Trail" initiative.
Since 2018 Dennis was the CEO of Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute working towards creating a more performance friendly space and creating a sustainable organisation well into the future.

Dennis is looking forward to getting to know FNMA members over the coming weeks and working to support the industry in his new position. You can contact Dennis on ceo@firstnationsmedia.org.au to say hello!

First Nations Media Australia has contributed to the following policy-related discussions recently:

Response to the Government's Media Reform Green Paper on modernising television regulation in Australia. Our submission responded to specific issues raised such as support for public interest journalism, employment opportunities, barriers to content production and consideration of VAST services. Read the submission.
FNMA submitted a response and spoke at a public hearing with Senators considering a Broadcasting Legislation Amendment. Our comments encouraged the expansion of guidelines for the Small Publishers Regional Innovation Fund to include First Nations media organisations. The Bill has since been passed in Parliament with feedback to the ACMA who is managing the fund.
Our work with the Coalition of Peaks continues. Following the addition of the Access to Information target in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (which focuses on digital inclusion and media services), the process moves into an implementation and data development phase. Each jurisdiction is working on its Implementation Plan at the moment, with Victoria and NSW already tabling theirs at their respective State Parliaments. Other jurisdictions are finalising their Implementation Plans currently, which should each include media and communications actions. FNMA has just joined a Data Development Working Group which is responsible for planning how data is collected and managed in relation to Closing the Gap. This aligns with our work on sector research and infrastructure requirements. Further updates to come as the process continues.
FNMA continues to participate in the reference committee to draft revised Community Broadcasting Codes of Practice. The draft is currently with the ACMA for early feedback and will be circulated to the sector for input this year.

In this interview of BREAKING GROUND, Neville Bonner shares his experience as the first Aboriginal person in Federal Parliament, representing Queensland as a Liberal Party Senator from 1971 to 1983. Bonner crossed the floor 23 times to vote against his own party and in 1982 the Liberal Party demoted him from first to third place on the Queensland Senate ticket. Bonner resigned from the party in fury, stood as an Independent, but was not re-elected. AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON INDIGITUBE UNTIL THIS SUNDAY 11 JULY. Watch here.

Senator for the Northern Territory Malarndirri McCarthy has paid tribute to the Koori Mail on the newspaper’s 30th anniversary. Speaking in the Senate, the former NITV and ABC journalist also spoke of the importance of First Nations media.

“First Nations media is so critical to our national landscape”, says Senator McCarthy.
“First Nations media connect communities, reflects aspirations and shares our culture."

Senator McCarthy says First Nations media industry members are the experts in getting information to communities in a way that is culturally appropriate, accessible and timely. “As an example, the First Nations media sector worked enormously hard to ensure communities were kept informed of the latest health and safety advice during this pandemic. Including a First Nations lens in our discussions on all issues, local, regional and national is critical if we are to play a role in shaping our own lives and futures and having a voice. And organisations like the Koori Mail are absolutely vital to this.”

A new South Australian online First Nations screen and new media arts channel has been started, to provide our artists with a platform to promote, host and sell their work.

iDreamingTV is a screen and new media arts channel that will be available both online and through an app. iDreamingTV began in 1998 as South Australia’s Peak Aboriginal Screen and New Media Arts Organisation. Behind iDreamingTV online and on the app, which has been 10 years in the making, are Umeewarra Media producer Samantha Lee and First Nations filmmakers David Wilson and Albert Lovegrove-Buckskin.

"Over 10 years ago, iDreamingTV did a survey across South Australia of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities about what they wanted to see with screen and
multimedia in SA - the results of that survey were over 700 pages long and the strategy was released in 2011," David Wilson said. "It has been implemented since, and one of the main objectives was the development of this online space. Mr Wilson, a project coordinator, said the website and app were being built and hoped they would be live by the end of the year, after receiving funding through the Federal Government's Indigenous Languages and Arts program.

He said it would include artist profiles, including photos and videos of their work and a shop to purchase artwork, while the website and app would also include documentaries, podcasts and news. "It is a place where people can hear stories from the artists - about who they are, where they learned their art form and their future."