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This week, me wrote about it the conversation about race and racism in the Australian media industry sparked by Stan Grant’s announcement that he would be stepping down from his duties as a television presenter. Mr Grant, one of Australia’s most high-profile journalists, said he and his family suffered “relentless” racial abuse after speaking out about colonial-era violence as part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s coverage of King Charles’s coronation III.
I spoke to Narelda Jacobs, who hosts Network 10’s afternoon news program, about her experience as a afternoon woman who has worked in media for two decades, the additional challenges and burdens faced by Indigenous journalists, and how she hoped Mr Grant’s departure would mark a “watershed moment” for the industry.
What she said stuck with me, so I thought I’d include a few of her comments that didn’t make it into the article. (Quotations have been edited for length and clarity).
On the high price indigenous journalists pay for challenging mainstream perspectives
The coronation of the king really is a perfect example. Craig Foster said similar things to Stan, and yet people didn’t come after him the same way. There are several standards that apply to First Nations people.
Australia’s media has been unbalanced throughout history. And this goes for anyone who offers a balanced view in an industry that has never been balanced: people will come after you. And that’s exactly what happened to Stan. He tried to keep the balance and was attacked for it.
When you start, you have to follow the line. You must do as you are told. Only when you’re in Stan’s position can you say no. But then you do it, but at what cost? Because you speak your truth to power, but then you sit back and wait to see if you become enemy of the state No. 1.
About why conversations about race and colonialism are so fraught in Australia
The really hard truth is that for many intergenerationally wealthy families, the wealth started because the land was stolen. That is very difficult for people to confront. It is much easier to believe in the romanticized view of colonialism in Australia.
Australians have this image of Australia as a very fair country, as if anyone could walk into a hospital and be treated. But for First Nations people, we’ve seen corona studies where people with Panadol are turned away from emergencies and go home to die, or people die in custody who shouldn’t even have been there.
About the fact that you are an indigenous journalist and the constant worry that your words will not be interpreted in good faith
Every conversation comes with a cultural load because you don’t know how it will be perceived. Perception is dictated by the caption that goes with the story, the headline that goes with the story. And those are often the only things people read, they don’t read the core of the story. So that’s the risk, that you get taken out of context, your words get skewed.
You make these comments for the public good because you want the country to get better and try to move forward and really just to keep in line with the rest of the world – but it’s taking a huge toll. And you just have to be fit and ready for battle. But at what price? I think the question is always, at what cost?
About the role of the media in fueling the flames
I think that’s the crux of the problem, what confuses the trolls: it’s often the opinions they’ve read about what happened. They don’t listen to the original thing that Stan, or anyone else, said. They don’t see it in the right context.
It’s up to Australians to stand up and say, I don’t want to read this rubbish. And it’s up to people like Stan to stand up and say, “We’ve got a problem in this country, in the media,” and acknowledge that “Maybe I was part of it, I need to step back.” We all need to take a good look at ourselves.
Now for this week’s stories:
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