Meet the all-star lineup for NITV's The Point

NITV's The Point returns in 2017 for another season of hard hitting news and current affairs. Join Karla Grant, Rae Johnston, Allan Clarke, Ryan Liddle and Natalie Ahmat weeknights from Monday April 3rd at 9pm.

NITV's The Point Source: Supplied

Karla Grant

Karla Grant Source: The Point

Karla Grant, a proud woman of the Arrernte people, is the host of long-standing Indigenous current affairs show Living Black. With over two decades of media experience, Karla has dedicated a huge part of her career to working in Indigenous news and current affairs, witnessing and reporting on the shifts in policy and attitude towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Starting at SBS almost 20 years ago as a presenter, producer, reporter and director of the Walkley award-winning ICAM (Indigenous Current Affairs Magazine) program, Karla was appointed as the Executive Producer of the network’s Indigenous Media Unit, where she developed Living Black – now a Deadly Award winning show. For eleven years, Karla managed SBS’s coverage of The Deadly Awards. Before joining SBS, Karla worked on Channel 10’s Aboriginal Australia and hosted a weekly show on Canberra’s community radio station 2XX.

Allan Clarke

Allan Clarke Source: Supplied

Growing up in the small town of Bourke in western New South Wales, Muruwari man Allan Clarke became fascinated with the media at a very early age. Watching negative reports on his hometown and the local Aboriginal community through mainstream media, he found it hard to reconcile his perception of his community against the way it was being portrayed.

Allan shaped and moulded BuzzFeed Australia's National Indigenous Affairs section, travelling the country and filing a range of stories on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues. Before joining BuzzFeed, Allan was the western Sydney reporter for Australia’s national broadcaster’s The ABC nightly news bulletin. Allan filed across several mediums for the ABC including television, radio and online. He also provided live crosses during natural disasters and the Martin Place siege.

Prior to the ABC, Allan spent several years as a video journalist at NITV’s current affairs program Living Black as a senior reporter travelling the country filing feature stories. In 2015, Allan was nominated for the prestigious Journalism award, the Walkleys. He was nominated in the Indigenous affairs category for a series of deep investigative feature stories about youth suicide and incarceration in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. 

In 2015 and 2016 Allan was also nominated for an Amnesty International media award for his stories on Indigenous suicide and an ongoing investigation into the unsolved murder of Aboriginal teenager Mark Haines in 1988. Allan’s work on Mark Haines’ case saw the police reopen their investigation actively at the case after 29 years.

This year, Allan was named as one of the 50 most influential LGBT people in Australia by Cosmopolitan magazine.

Rae Johnston

Rae Johnston Source: The Point

Rae Johnston is a proud Wiradjuri woman from Kalari clan, who grew up on Dharug country. The mother of a teenage son, Rae is a journalist who is passionate about the positive benefits science and technology bring to our lives, and the role games and apps play in preserving and continuing culture. A self-confessed geek, Rae tours Australia - often in her trademark Wonder Woman costume - speaking at comic book and pop culture conventions and hosting cosplay competitions. 

In addition to regular tech segments on The Point last year, you may have read her stories on Gizmodo Australia or heard her talking games and science on Triple J or Radio National. Her work has also appeared on every national news program in the country.

The former Lifestyle Editor for Techlife Magazine, Rae has been an Australian IT Journalism Awards finalist for consumer tech and video content, and was a finalist in both the 2015 and 2016 Xbox MCV Pacific Women in Games Awards — “Woman of the Year” and “Ambassador” categories.

Natalie Ahmat

Natalie Ahmat Source: The Point

Natalie Ahmat is a Presenter, Producer and Senior Journalist at NITV News - Australia’s only Indigenous television news bulletin. She is a proud descendant of the Mudburra people of Wave Hill in the Northern Territory and the Maluyligal Nation of Mabuyag (Mabuiag Island) in the Torres Strait Islands.

Natalie joined NITV in 2008 and since then, has anchored NITV News bulletins and segments from right around the country, pioneering the use of the latest news reporting technologies to broadcast live from the heart of communities. Natalie also presents the international First Nations current affairs program, “Nations Without Borders”, featuring stories from members of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network.

She has also fronted NITV’s coverage of several special events, including live coverage from Garma 2016 and the National NAIDOC Awards in 2016 and 2015. She hosted NITV’s coverage of Sydney NEAFL matches throughout the 2016 season, and also co-produced and presented “Shark Curry: A Cricket Delicacy”, a 30 minute documentary following the inaugural National Indigenous Women’s Cricket team on its historic tour of India.

Natalie began her media career with ABC Radio in Darwin in 1999. Since then, she has worked for Channel 8 (now Channel 9) in Darwin, Imparja Television in Alice Springs, ATSIC Radio and ABC’s TV’s “Message Stick” program. 

In 2015, Natalie was named Journalist of the Year at the Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards. She won the 2012 Deadly Award for Community Broadcaster of the Year, and was honoured with a commendation for excellence in journalism at the inaugural World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network awards in Norway that same year. 

In addition to her NITV role, Natalie is an Ambassador for Neighbour Day, Australia’s annual celebration of community and Patron of the 2016 Cameraygal Festival. She is a member of Cricket Australia’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Committee (NATSICAC), the Lane Cove Council’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee, and on the Cameraygal Festival Committee. 

Ryan Liddle

Ryan Liddle Source: Supplied

Born and raised in the Red Centre Ryan Liddle began his career in television at just 17 years of age. Ryan Worked through several different departments such as programming and traffic before eventually landing an on air position as a TV presenter. Hosting the Weather segment before eventually becoming the lead Anchor, Ryan joined the Alice Springs based Imparja News and Current affairs team and was one of Australia’s youngest ever national newsreaders at just 18.  

The Arrente and Luritja man joined the NITV Team during its inception back in 2007 and he also worked as a journalist in commercial television for two years with Channel 9.

Indigenous Affairs comes first for this Newsreader turned Video Journalist but he also has a strong interest in local and international politics, healthcare and story’s from regional and rural Australia.  Named as one of the Top 25 Influential Men in Australian TV since moving to Sydney in 2012, Ryan has worked as a Newsreader, Presenter, Video Journalist and Producer across various programs and platform like NITV News, The Point, The Murri Knockout, Living Black, SBS World News and Awaken.   

“Being a conduit for Aboriginal people to the rest of the country and the world through my Journalism has and will continue to be a great privilege and honour throughout my life. The last 13 years that I’ve been involved with TV has been an amazing journey and to see the way the media landscape has changed and with it, its reporting of Indigenous Affairs has also been encouraging. There’s a long way to go, but I think we are on the right track."

 

Join hosts Karla Grant, Rae Johnston, Allan Clarke, Ryan Liddle and Natalie Ahmat for hard hitting news and current affairs when The Point returns weeknights from Monday April 3^rd at 9pm.