Aussie TV Chief to Address Indigenous Broadcasters

PUBLICITY RELEASE
TUESDAY JULY 10 2007

Australian TV Chief to Address Indigenous Broadcasters

The head of Australia’s first national Indigenous television service will be among the featured guest speakers at next year’s inaugural World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference to be hosted by Maori Television in Auckland, New Zealand.

Patricia Turner was appointed chief executive of National Indigenous TV (NITV) at the beginning of this year and will oversee the imminent launch of the long-awaited service. Ms Turner – who will speak about the challenges faced by the new broadcaster – is a member of the Order of Australia for her public service work and has extensive experience in Indigenous affairs.

To be held from March 26 to 28, WITBC ‘08 will be the first ever gathering of Indigenous television leaders from around the world. Internationally renowned speakers who are industry experts in broadcasting, media and Indigenous languages include the leader of Welsh-language channel S4C, John Walter Jones. A World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network will also be launched as part of the event.

Maori Television chief executive Jim Mather says the confirmation of Patricia Turner as a featured guest speaker is another major coup for WITBC ’08.

“Ms Turner has been the most senior Indigenous person in the Australian public service with a career spanning 28 years. In that time, she's been deputy chief executive of Centrelink, head of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and deputy secretary in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,” Mr Mather says.

“NITV has been created for similar reasons to Maori Television – based on a premise of preserving culture and language – so it will be fascinating to hear first-hand how the new service will impact on the Australian media landscape.”

Leaders, producers and planners involved in Indigenous and public television can register their interest to attend the World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference at www.witbc.org.

ENDS

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