NITV has promoted two Indigenous women to more senior content roles.
Marissa McDowell, a proud Wiradjuri woman, joined the Indigenous broadcaster in 2021 as commissioning editor and has now taken on the permanent role of head of commissions. She will manage NITV’s distinctive and diverse content slate including documentaries, drama, entertainment and children’s programs which reflect, explore and celebrate First Nations stories.
During her time at NITV, McDowell has been overseeing the delivery and development of a wide range of NITV projects, including recent documentaries “Black Empire”, “Sistas in Mining”, “Un-Locked” and “Our Law”.
Her appointment comes as NITV gears up to deliver its largest original content line-up over the year ahead, including children’s show “Barrumbi Kids”, currently being screened in communities across the country ahead of a broadcast premiere on NITV on Nov. 18.
Rhanna Collins, meanwhile, is a proud palawa woman who first joined NITV in 2014. She will take on a new position in NITV’s leadership team as head of business and operations, where she will play a key role in coordinating operational activities for the channel including supporting its continued growth and evolution.
She steps into the role after leading news and current affairs at the broadcaster, where she oversaw daily news output and weekly current affairs show “The Point”. She also oversaw the launch of Australia’s first all-Indigenous breakfast TV show “Big Mob Brekky” as part of NAIDOC Week in 2020, which continues to this day as part of the SBS network’s NAIDOC celebrations.
Peter Noble, a Girramay and Bandjin man and general manager of NITV, said he looks forward to working closely with the duo and the rest of the NITV team as they deliver even more for Indigenous communities and all Australians.
“At NITV we proudly champion Indigenous excellence on and off the screen. I’m thrilled to have Marissa and Rhanna stepping up into these critical positions that are central to NITV’s ongoing success,” he said.
“NITV is going from strength to strength, delivering outstanding programming and growing audiences. We’re reaching more Australians than ever with multiplatform content that champions First Nations voices, and the coming year will see us share our strongest ever collection of original content – our stories, in our hands, shared with everyone. It comes as we prepare to mark a major milestone; on 12 December, we’ll reach a decade of NITV being available free-to-air and to every Australian, as part of the SBS Network.”