Karla Grant On Being One Of The Longest-Standing First Nations Reporters On TV

In a changing landscape where streaming platforms and social media often steer cultural discourse, it's truly quite a feat for an Australian TV show to last two decades. But it's exactly what Living Black has achieved, becoming the longest-running Indigenous affairs show, celebrating its 20th anniversary this month.

The program's host Karla Grant is consequently one of the most established First Nations reporters on Aussie television, but her award-winning career hasn't evolved without her facing challenges that many Indigenous women do in the workplace — particularly in media.

The Western Arrernte woman recalls a job interview early in her career, where a male interviewer asked a female interviewer an ignorant question about Grant while she was in the room.

"He said to this woman, 'She's pretty enough, but would she be able to communicate?'" Grant recalls in a phone interview with Refinery29 Australia. "It was like I wasn't even in the room. Just because I was Aboriginal, he didn't think I'd be able to speak English."

Thinking of the incident now makes Grant "angry", but she's used to this frustration — and teamed with her lifelong passion to fight injustices, she's built a livelihood around telling stories that often go unheard.

"Ever since I was a teenager growing up in Adelaide, I'd always wanted to be a journalist because I'd seen a lot of injustice being faced by my own family, and other First Nations families and people in our community," she explains.

"I just had this strong sense of social justice when I was quite young. I saw things that I didn't feel were right and I thought, I really wanted to do something about it."

With high incarceration rates, deaths in custody, forced removal of children from their homes, lower life expectancy or poorer health outcomes, there are a plethora of issues impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that need more attention. And Grant dedicates herself to shedding light on these.

Speaking to community members facing harsh circumstances can take an "emotional toll" and be "traumatising" for a journalist. Grant says "it hits you" after the story finally goes to air, but she knows the importance of putting these issues on the national agenda.

"I've spoken to so many families who have lost loved ones in custody, and it's just so sad," she says. "It's so tragic to have to continually interview families and they're just treated like numbers. These people aren't numbers."

One of the most discussed topics in parliament, the media and wider society at the moment is the upcoming referendum, which will decide if an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be enshrined in the constitution.

Grant acknowledges that people have different views on the matter, including First Nations people themselves. But one thing she hopes everyone recognises in this debate is that "the status quo isn't good enough".

"Things need to change," she says. "Things have to improve in this country. The lives of First Nations people have to improve, and changes need to be made."

The Voice to Parliament is one of the main topics that will be discussed in the first episode of Living Black, when returns for its 30th season in mid-April, with the likes of Lidia Thorpe, Karen Mundine, Ken Wyatt and more appearing on the panel alongside Grant.