Telling our stories: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander journalists

Join our panel of journalists and editors for a discussion about the issues and stories of Black Australia, and the journalism that covers it best. They’ll talk about why it’s essential to have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in Australian newsrooms, where we’re currently at with representation, how things can be improved and the pathways into media for young Indigenous journalists.

Speakers include:

• Rae Johnston, editor, Junkee
• Yale Macgillivray, producer, ABC
• Moderator: Natalie Ahmat, presenter, NITV News

Register here for free

Venue

Metcalfe Auditorium, The State Library of NSW
Macquarie St
Sydney, NSW 2000

Date And Time
Thursday, September 26
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm AEST

To reserve a place, head over to Eventbrite.

About the speakers

A proud Mudburra and Maluyligal First Nations woman, Natalie Ahmat is passionate about telling Australian stories through an Indigenous lens. She currently presents NITV News, Australia’s only dedicated Indigenous television news bulletin, and is a regular contributor on NITV’s current affairs program, The Point. Natalie has also fronted NITV’s live coverage of significant Indigenous events, including Garma from north east Arnhem Land, the Uluru First Nations Constitutional Convention, and the National NAIDOC Awards. Natalie started her journalism career as a sports broadcasting trainee at ABC Radio in Darwin in 1999. Since then, she has worked for Channel 9 Darwin, Imparja Television in Alice Springs, ATSIC Radio and ABC’s TV’s Message Stick program before joining the inaugural NITV News team in 2008. Off camera, Natalie serves as an Ambassador for Neighbour Day, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the International Grammar School’s Indigenous Scholarship program, and is a member of Cricket Australia’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Committee (NATSICAC). Natalie is a member of the Walkley Judging Board.

Rae Johnston is a Wiradjuri woman and multi-award-winning cross-platform STEM journalist with a particular interest in Indigenous science. Rae is the current editor of the youth-focused Junkee, and co-host of That Startup Show alongside Benjamin Law. Rae is a founding mentor with The Working Lunch, a program that supports entry-level underrepresented people in STEM. Previously, Rae was the editor of Gizmodo Australia, host of NITV’s The Point and children’s Indigenous science program Rewired. She has also hosted SBS’s The Feed and Small Business Secrets. With almost a decade of experience appearing on every national television and radio news program in Australia, Rae is a leading commentator on all things science, technology, video games and geek culture.

Yale Macgillivray is a proud Kalkadoon, Australian South Sea Islander and Scottish woman. A graduate of the College of Fine Arts at the University of NSW, Yale has worked as a digital producer for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, ABC Regional & Local, ABC News and Foreign Correspondent. She was a producer of ABC’s Right Wrongs project, and is currently working across a range of ABC content partnerships including working with First Languages Australia and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to produce videos of Indigenous languages and place names around Australia. Yale won the 2018 Walkley Award for Coverage of Indigenous Affairs with Allan Clarke and the ABC Unravel team.