National Indigenous Television (NITV) has announced the appointment of two senior Indigenous leaders to key roles overseeing the commissioning of content and channel operations, with Marissa McDowell and Rhanna Collins stepping into new roles within the team.
Marissa McDowell, a proud Wiradjuri woman, has been appointed Head of Commissions for NITV. She joined NITV as Commissioning Editor in early 2021, and has recently been acting as the head of the commissioning team. She will manage NITV's distinctive and diverse content slate including documentaries, drama, entertainment and children's programs, reflecting, exploring and celebrating First Nations stories.
Her appointment comes as NITV prepares to deliver its biggest ever original commissioned content line-up over the year ahead, including the latest ground-breaking children's show, Barrumbi Kids, currently being screened in communities across the country ahead of a broadcast premiere on NITV on 18 November. During her time with NITV, Marissa has been overseeing the delivery and development of a wide range of NITV projects, including recent documentaries Black Empire, Sistas in Mining, and Un-Locked, part of the Curious Australia initiative, and documentary series, Our Law.
Rhanna Collins, a proud palawa woman who first joined NITV in 2014, takes on a new position in NITV's leadership team as Head of Business and Operations. She will play a key role in coordinating key operational activities for the channel including, supporting the continued growth and evolution of NITV.
Collins steps into the position after most recently leading NITV news and current affairs where she oversaw daily news output and weekly current affairs show, The Point. She led the team during a period which included the COVID-19 pandemic, when the importance of the trusted national news service NITV provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities was amplified. She also oversaw the launch of Australia's first all-Indigenous breakfast TV show, Big Mob Brekky, as part of NAIDOC Week in 2020, and which has continued to be a highlight of the SBS network's NAIDOC celebrations.
General Manager of NITV, Peter Noble, a Girramay and Bandjin man, said: At NITV we proudly champion Indigenous excellence on and off the screen, I'm thrilled to have Marissa and Rhanna stepping up into these critical positions that are central to NITV's ongoing success.
NITV is going from strength to strength, delivering outstanding programming and growing audiences. We're reaching more Australians than ever with multiplatform content that champions First Nations voices, and the coming year will see us share our strongest ever collection of original content - our stories, in our hands, shared with everyone. It comes as we prepare to mark a major milestone; on 12 December, we'll reach a decade of NITV being available free-to-air and to every Australian, as part of the SBS network. I look forward to working closely with Marissa, Rhanna and the rest of the NITV team as we deliver even more for our communities, and all Australians.
McDowell and Collins commence in their new roles immediately.
For a PDF version of this media release, click here.
About Marissa McDowell, Head of Commissions, NITV
Marissa McDowell is a Wiradjuri woman, born in Cowra, NSW. She joined NITV in March, 2021 as Commissioning Editor, working on the development and delivery of diverse First Nations stories.
Throughout her career, she has worked with First Nations communities telling their stories through documentary film making, photography and writing. Her documentaries have been screened on SBS/NITV, poetry published through USMOB Writing and photographs displayed at PhotoAcces and the Sydney Living Museum.
She has a Master of Arts Screen Business and Leadership from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) a Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of Canberra (UC) and is currently undertaking her Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage at Charles Sturt University.
About Rhanna Collins, Head of Business Operations, NITV
Rhanna Collins is a proud palawa Tasmanian Aboriginal woman. She has been in the Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs role for the past four years working in the business and operations and creative teams prior to that at NITV. She came to NITV via Foxtel, The Weather Channel and Sky News. Rhanna is on the board of R U OK Day and the Indigenous Advisory Committee and is passionate about suicide prevention and mental health in First Nations communities.
Most recent headlines
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has announced the appointment of two senior Indigenous leaders to key roles overseeing the commissioning of content and channel operations, with Marissa McDowell and Rhanna Collins stepping into new roles within the team.
