NITV’s Ella Archibald-Binge was the big winner last Thursday night at B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards for 2018, taking home one of the gongs on offer in the Journalist category, as well as the coveted Grand Prix trophy.

However, it turns out the indigenous broadcaster’s Queensland correspondent actually had to be convinced by a couple of her managers to enter the awards.

“I could think of five people off the top of my head who I thought would be better suited, so I initially put them forward, and they convinced me to give it a go, so I’m glad they did,” Archibald-Binge said in her post-awards interview with Nine Entertainment.

“It means a lot for me and for NITV as well to get that kind of recognition for the work that we’re doing in the indigenous affairs space. I know we’ve got a whole team of people who work really hard and don’t always get the recognition that we might sometimes observe.”

When it comes to working in journalism, Archibald-Binge gets a buzz out of leading the way as First Nations’ media and discussing sensitive topics involving indigenous Australians.

“I think people are coming to us for answers when it comes to the general public, and I think that we have a really important role to play in terms of helping people to understand why things are the way they are, why something’s happening,” she said.

“We’re in a really unique position to tell that. We’ve probably got the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander journalists working in the country now, which I find really exciting.”

The Grand Prix recipient said her inspiration are the people she meets when on the job producing stories.

“Every community you got to, every town, there’s always someone whose story might not of otherwise been shared and they’re doing things not for the recognition – just day to day for their community, for their people, for themselves,” she said.

“When you think of the people that you’ve done stories on, it makes it hard to ever stop, I think. It makes you want to keep going.”

As for some advice for others wanting to get into the media industry, Archibald-Binge’s message is don’t be afraid to give anything a go.

“I started off at a small country newspaper and ended up working at a national broadcaster, so you never know we’re things are going to lead. Just give things a go, believe in yourself and see where it takes you,” she said.

If you missed out on seeing the list of winners at this year’s 30 Under 30 Awards, click here, and you can check out all the photos from the evening here and here.

And if that’s not enough, Nine has also kindly put together the below highlights video of the awards for your viewing pleasure.