Forde, Susan; Harry Van Issum; Debbie Bargallie; Troy Meston; Heather Anderson; Leda Barnett (2025). Radio, Television and Digital Media in 21st Century Indigenous Broadcasting: A Place of Old and New Ways, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Research commissioned by the National Indigenous Australians’ Agency (NIAA), Canberra.
What happens when an Elders’ voice on the radio meets TikTok, podcasts, and YouTube?
What does “community media” mean in a digital age defined by algorithms, data costs, and uneven infrastructure?
Our national report released in 2025, Radio, Television and Digital Media in 21st Century Indigenous Broadcasting: A Place of Old and New Ways, takes readers inside Indigenous broadcasting and media as it exists today—at once deeply grounded in culture and language, and under growing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing media environments.
This is not a story of decline. It is a story of persistence, innovation, and urgent possibility.
Why This Research Matters Now
Indigenous media has always been more than media. It is a lifeline, a cultural archive, a place of storytelling, emergency communication, language maintenance, collective memory, and political voice.
But Indigenous broadcasting in Australia now sits at what we describe as a critical juncture.
Across urban, regional, remote and very remote Australia, Indigenous audiences are navigating a hybrid media world: radio remains vital—especially for Elders and remote communities—while younger generations are increasingly engaging through smartphones, social media, podcasts and video platforms. Yet funding models, infrastructure, governance arrangements and training pathways have not kept pace with these shifts.
This report asks:
What does it take to sustain Indigenous-controlled media in an era of profound technological change—without abandoning the old ways that communities value so deeply?
Listening to Communities, Not Just Counting Audiences
Over twelve months (July 2023–June 2024), our research team worked with communities across Australia through:
- A national survey of 762 Indigenous Australians, spanning cities, regional centres and remote communities
- Yarning sessions and workshops in 18 locations across Australia, conducted using Indigenist research methodologies
- Close engagement with Indigenous broadcasters, media workers, Elders and young people
The result is one of the most comprehensive, contemporary portraits of Indigenous broadcasting and media use in Australia to date.
What We Found
Some key insights from the report:
- Indigenous broadcasting remains essential, particularly in remote and very remote communities where it is often the primary—and sometimes only—trusted media source.
- Digital and social media use is growing rapidly, but many Indigenous media organisations lack the resources, infrastructure and training to meet audiences where they are.
- Young people are producing media—just not always within stations, pointing to missed opportunities for skills development and intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
- Funding structures lag decades behind media realities, constraining innovation and reinforcing inequities.
- Indigenous media is globally respected, despite being under-resourced within Australia.
These findings culminate in a strong call to reimagine Indigenous broadcasting services as Community Media Hubs—spaces that support radio, digital content creation, podcasting, music production, training, archiving and cultural transmission, all under Indigenous governance.
More Than Research: A Roadmap for the Future
This report is not simply descriptive. It is deliberately forward-looking.
It offers evidence-based recommendations for:
- Government agencies and policymakers
- Indigenous media organisations and peak bodies
- Researchers, educators and advocates
- Anyone invested in Closing the Gap outcomes related to culture, language, information and participation
At its heart is a simple proposition:
Indigenous media must be supported to carry old ways forward into new technological futures—on Indigenous terms.
About the Authors
This report was produced by a multidisciplinary and Indigenous‑led research team based at Griffith University and working in close partnership with communities:
- Susan Forde
- Harry Van Issum
- Debbie Bargallie
- Troy Meston
- Heather Anderson
- Susan de Groot Heupner
- Leda Barnett
Together, we bring expertise in Indigenous research methodologies, media studies, sociology, cultural studies and community-engaged research.
Access the full report here: Radio, Television and Digital Media in 21st Century Indigenous Broadcasting: A Place of Old and New Ways | NIAA