Success Story
Charmaine Ingram founded Native Bird Media in 2024. After a 15 + career spanning in media broadcast, public relations, strategic communications and video productions. Her collaborations have taken her across Australia.
Aboriginal Investment NT approved Charmaine for a Business Grant to back her on the tools, to help Aboriginal people in the NT share impactful stories through different media mediums.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank Aboriginal Investment NT for supporting Native Bird Media through its business grant funding.
That support enabled us to invest in new professional video equipment and strengthen our capacity to undertake projects like this—capturing important stories, culture and community events.”
For Charmaine, it’s a dream come true to start her own media business.
Native Bird Media didn’t have a video kit and editing suite. We were outsourcing to other local videographers and paying high fees for services/equipment hire. I applied for this business grant and saving so that I can purchase video equipment assets and keep service delivery and profits in-house,” said Charmaine.
Aboriginal Investment NT’s Business Grant funded Native Bird media for video and editing equipment and professional services like legal, accounting, and branding to support long-term business sustainability.
As a proud Yidinji woman from the Gimuy Walaburra clan in Far North Queensland, storytelling is in her blood and it’s also her motivation to help teach media in remote communities, classrooms and to businesses that want to share impactful stories and make a difference to the landscape we all share. Charmaine calls the Territory home now after living and working in Central Australian and Arnhem Land communities for the past 13 years.
“It’s never just about creating a video. It’s about building trust, listening first, creating safe spaces for conversation and ensuring communities tell their own stories, in their own words,” shares Charmaine.
Charmaine now leads the creative and production teams as Creative Director and ensures that she is accessible to all clients.
“I treat every project with the same amount of care and importance. First, I listen, then we (the client) collaborate and then we create together. It’s a wonderful feeling to help bring people’s visions and ideas to life.”
Aboriginal Investment NT has a range of grants available to support Aboriginal businesses and community initiatives across the NT.
With Aboriginal Investment NT’s support, Charmaine’s dream is to expand the business and continue to provide media skills and employment opportunities to other young First Nations people, so they too can continue to share stories through an ever-changing media landscape.
Read the Native Bird Media Capability Statement.
