First Nations Media News : Farewell Catherine Liddle

The FNMA Board wishes Catherine all the best both in her new position and personally.

"We thank Catherine for the contribution she has made to the First Nations media industry throughout her media career, and particularly as CEO of FNMA for the past year," said Dot West, Chair of FNMA. "The way Catherine has represented our sector in the Coalition of Peaks and advisory committees has been a source of pride and we are grateful for her hard work through a particularly challenging year in 2020. The Board is also pleased to have a strong team of experienced staff continuing to provide support services to our members through this transition period and beyond."

FNMA is looking for an Archiving Facility & Projects Manager to establish the First Nations Media digitisation facility in Alice Springs. This is an exciting new role for someone with skills in project management and technical knowledge of digitisation equipment and archive software. This position will help develop resources and deliver training to expand the First Nations Media Archiving hub and oversee cataloguing software solutions. It's a two-year, full-time contract based in Alice Springs.

Contact Jenni for a full position description via jenni@firstnationsmedia.org.au or 08 8952 6454. Applications close on 29 January 2021. Read more.

We are excited to launch the first cohort of community reporters sharing stories across the sector this week! It's a great mix of people with some just starting out in their media careers and others who have been working in First Nations Media for many years. So far, the team includes:

Carli Somer and Cassie Tim - Bumma Bippera Media, Cairns
Chevon McKenzie and Kirsten Brady - Umeewarra Media Port Augusta
Damien Williams - ICTV, Alice Springs
Sylvia Tabua and Kantesha Takai - TSIMA, Thursday Island
Russell Dann - PAKAM, Broome
Tyler Brahim - Ngaarda Media, Roebourne
Matt Francis - Goolarri Media, Broome
Velma Gara – 4K1G, Townsville
Fiona Hayden - Radio MAMA, Carnavon

Together, they offer a great set of skills, producing stories in radio/audio formats, video, print/blog and photography. These skills will be supplemented by an intensive training program which begins this week, with support from the CMTO and the Google News Initiative.

We're expecting to add more reporters to the project in the coming weeks as people return from summer holidays. Drop David Liddle a line if you want to get involved: david@firstnationsmedia.org.au

The Community Reporters are already starting to report on the happenings and events in their communities for the news content-sharing platform. So if you see our Community Reporters coming your way, tell them your story!

Watch the sold-out Survival Day concert live on indigiTUBE this Tuesday from 1pm (ACDT). Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute presents the annual community event which has grown in stature each year to become the ‘not to miss’ event in Adelaide, reminding us that we’re Still Surviving, Still Thriving!

Survival Day will be hosted by Natasha Wanganeen and Zibeon Fielding, featuring a line-up of South Australia’s deadly First Nations performers including the Nathan May Trio, Tilly Tjala Thomas, Glenn Skuthorpe, Nancy Bates, Katie Aspel, Rob Edwards Band, Sonz of Serpent and the Tony Minniecon Band. Traditional and contemporary dance performances will feature ‘Yellaka: Old Wisdom, New Ways’, SA First Nations Dance Collective, Dusty Feet Mob and Talkinjeri dancers.

Catherine Liddle and Claire Stuchbery visited Gadigal Information Services - home of Koori Radio in December where CEO, Tim Leha told us about their plans for Yabun 2021. Yabun is the Gadigal word for song or music with a beat - and also the name of the annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures held at Victoria Park, Sydney on January 26 each year since 2003. Rather than gathering thousands of people in the park, COVID restrictions mean that this year the events are ticketed and very limited in numbers. But Koori Radio will be making sure that everybody can participate through live streaming from the main stages. From 11am the event will be live on radio and streaming online. See the details here.

The 2021 State of Reconciliation Report was released this week. The report provides a snapshot of where we are on our reconciliation journey, and where we need to go next. The report draws on data from the Australian Reconciliation Barometer, the views of First Nations leaders and practical examples of reconciliation in action. Recommended actions in 2021 include truth-telling, and actively addressing issues of inequality and systemic racism. The report identifies media's representation as a required action for unity.

"The media’s institutional integrity was poor, with 50% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people believing the media portrayal of themselves and their communities is usually negative. Forty-two per cent of Australians in the general community agreed with them." - the report found. It called for action through:

Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should value First Peoples cultures and ways of doing in governing, education curricula, business practices, and media representation;
Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should support initiatives that celebrate, promote and enhance public education about First Peoples’ history, culture, and achievements; and
Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should promote discussion about enhancing our national identity by embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history into our national story.

These recommendations again highlight the importance of First Nations media organisations who are carrying out these roles, outside the mainstream media institutions. Read the full report here.

This can include education, training, emergency preparedness, mental health support, equipment, infrastructure or actions that reduce climate risk. Media organisations may want to use this funding to help prepare transmitter sites for fire safety, strengthen and protect equipment against cyclones, replace or maintain ageing equipment and/or support staff to respond to crisis. Applications close on 30 July 2021, but applications received before 31 March will be notified of an outcome in April - so to the sooner the better! Read more.