Rhoda Roberts AO and Stan Grant didn’t just succeed within media - they transformed it.
For me, and for many of us working in First Nations media, they are icons. They’ve blazed trails, spoken with cultural authority, and reshaped how our stories are told and understood.
Tonight, as part of NITV’s 7 Days of Reflection on the Lasting Legacy of Rhoda Roberts AO, we look back at her 2024 SBS Elder in Residence Oration, where she was joined by renowned journalist and Wiradjuri man Stan Grant.
The oration was a rare, honest reflection on media and truth and today is a timely reflection on race, media, and the nation.
Grant is best known as a pioneering Indigenous foreign correspondent for CNN and anchor for Seven Network, SBS, and ABC. Roberts was the first Indigenous presenter on prime-time television when, in 1989, she and Michael Johnson presented the SBS program First In Line.
In conversation with Rhoda, Stan openly reflects on his 40-year career, the need for greater compassion in media and his departure from mainstream journalism.
“I believed that journalism was a way of making us better - but I don’t believe in journalism anymore,” Grant said.
Reflecting further, he recalls the abuse that he faced, particularly following his appearance during Coronation of King Charles III coverage on the ABC in May 2023.
“I had spoken what I believe was the truths of our history, the truth of what invasion and colonisation, exclusion, and segregation had meant for us and how it still plays out in our lives.”
“In return, I was vilified. My family was abused, and we were threatened. Our lives were threatened,” he says.
Both Grant and Roberts broke barriers in mainstream media at times when Indigenous voices were rarely centred.
In introducing the Oration, Rhoda reflects on the aftermath of the 2023 Referendum and its ongoing impact for First Nations people.
“We live in a world now with so much noise. There’s social media - that adds yet another very destructive and very distractive layer of mistruth – it epitomises loud voices and carries the misinformation.
“Our media across all platforms plays such a critical role, it’s so important as it's shaping a nation’s views and a nation’s discussions,” she said.
Appointed as SBS’s inaugural Elder in Residence in 2021, Rhoda Roberts AO delivered three SBS Elder in Residence Orations.
Rhoda Roberts AO: A Lasting Legacy is a curated collection of programs airing nightly to Monday 6 April.
The collection honours the breadth of Rhoda’s work as one of Australia’s most influential leaders in the arts and creative sector and recognises her pioneering role in strengthening First Nations representation.
It offers Australians an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate her remarkable achievements and enduring cultural impact, following her passing on Saturday 21 March, aged 66.
2024 SBS Elder In Residence Oration with Stan Grant Wednesday 1 April at 8:25pm on NITV and SBS On Demand.
