Prominent Indigenous presenters are bearing the brunt of an "alarming escalation" of racism, with an inquiry told media outlets must be more accountable.
Fronting a federal inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, SBS and NITV national Indigenous affairs editor John-Paul Janke said he had experienced a rise in online abuse reminiscent to what he endured in the 1970s.
"I, like so many other media professionals, have witnessed a profound change in the way that our stories are told. It has been a welcome change," Mr Janke told the inquiry in Melbourne on Thursday.
"(But), in recent years, I have witnessed an alarming escalation of online racial slurs, of delegitimising First Nations history and expertise, co-ordinated online pile-ons, and sustained abuse aimed at First Nations voices."
Mr Janke was part of a roundtable of Indigenous journalists and media personalities that included former Today presenter Brooke Boney, who spoke about instances where she had received physical threats.
"It's menacing to receive a threat, but it's absolutely terrifying when those threats are realised," Ms Boney said.
Ms Boney suggested media outlets should be taken to task when their reporting on Indigenous affairs did not hit the mark.
"We need to strengthen media accountability, requiring accuracy, context, and correction mechanisms in reporting on First Nations people, especially when it comes to youth crime and patterns of racial profiling and fear-based amplification," she said.
Earlier, Olympic boxer Marissa Williamson Pohlman blasted Boxing Australia as a "rotten organisation".
Ms Williamson Pohlman said a Boxing Australia official called her coach and threatened "repercussions" if she carried the Aboriginal flag at an Olympic Games qualifier in the Solomon Islands.
"I'm not only dealing with the racism I experience whilst I'm trying to be an athlete in the arena but also the systemic failures that are going on for me and my family outside of sport," she said.
"I don't think that I will ever actually get to witness ... what I could have become as an athlete because all my energy has been wasted fighting just for a fair go."
As Netball Australia gave evidence, committee chair and Labor senator Jana Stewart revealed the NRL and AFL knocked back invitations to participate in the inquiry.
Aboriginal and African-born AFL players have been subjected to racist abuse online for years and league boss Andrew Dillon recently conceded the code has work to do to address declining Indigenous player numbers on club lists.
The league is defending a class action brought by former Indigenous stars Phil Krakouer and Nicky Winmar that alleges the pair suffered physical, psychological and psychiatric injuries as a result of racist abuse.
The NRL has also grappled with racism, most notably when Sydney Roosters player Spencer Leniu admitted to calling Indigenous star Ezra Mam a "monkey" in 2024.
The inquiry continues in Melbourne on Friday.
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