Hamish Macdonald (broadcaster)

For others with the same or similar names, see Hamish MacDonald (disambiguation).

Hamish Macdonald
Macdonald at the TV Week Logie Awards nominations in Sydney, Australia, March 2012
Born	Sydney, Australia
Occupation(s)	Broadcast journalist, international affairs correspondent
Years active	2003−present
Employer(s)	Network 10, ABC Radio National
Television	The Project , RN Breakfast
Spouse	Jacob Fitzroy

Hamish Macdonald is an Australian broadcast journalist and news presenter. As of 2023 ^[update] he is a presenter on the TV panel show The Project on Network 10, and on ABC Radio National's RN Breakfast.

From February 2020 until July 2021, Macdonald hosted the ABC's Q+A political panel discussion show. He previously worked at other networks, including Channel 4, ITV and Al Jazeera English.

Career

Upon earning a journalism degree from Charles Sturt University in 2002, ^[1] Macdonald began a short stint as a reporter covering politics in Canberra with regional broadcaster WIN Television. He moved to the United Kingdom, where he reported for Channel 4 and ITV. ^[2]

In the UK's Channel 4 News, Macdonald built a career as a news producer and reporter. He covered major stories including the Asian tsunami and the London bombings. He reported live for Channel 4 and ITV News. He also reported as an eyewitness for Australian Networks Nine, Seven, and ABC. ^[3]

Al Jazeera English

In early 2006, Macdonald worked as a producer^{[ citation needed ]} for Al Jazeera English's regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Al Jazeera English is the English-language sister channel of the Arabic network Al Jazeera. In the summer of 2006, he was hired as a news presenter at the Kuala Lumpur bureau of Al Jazeera English. ^[4]

Macdonald won the "Young Journalist of the Year" award at the Royal Television Society awards in London, on 20 February 2008. ^[5]

Hamish later moved to Al Jazeera's London bureau, during which time he also acted as the UK correspondent for the Australian breakfast programme Sunrise . He left Al Jazeera English in June 2010.^{[ citation needed ]}

Network 10

Macdonald announced he would be leaving Network Ten in September 2013. Rumours surfaced the network was underwhelmed with MacDonald's The Truth Is series and MacDonald was upset Ten had not shown greater support for his work. ^[5]

In 2017, Macdonald rejoined Network Ten, regularly hosting The Sunday Project and later being appointed the permanent host in January 2018.^{[ citation needed ]} He remained in the position until December 2019 upon taking on his new role as host of Q&A on ABC.^{[ citation needed ]}

In May 2019, Macdonald hosted the 2019 Australian Federal Election coverage on Network 10.^{[ citation needed ]}

In July 2021, it was announced that Macdonald would return to Network 10 from 22 August to host The Project on Friday night and The Sunday Project , replacing Peter van Onselen. ^[6]

ABC Television Network (U.S.)

On 6 January 2014, Macdonald joined the US television network ABC in a senior role as an international affairs correspondent. Despite being contracted to Network Ten in Australia until March 2014, MacDonald gained an early release from Ten which supported his new appointment. He was initially based in New York City, but moved to London later in 2014. His ABC contract reportedly allowed him to accept limited outside work with other organisations in certain circumstances. ^[7]

ABC TV (Australia)

Macdonald hosted Q+A on Australia's ABC TV from February 2020, replacing Tony Jones ^[8] as host of the panel program, until his final appearance in June 2021. Macdonald was at the helm of the show as it moved from Monday night to Thursday. With Macdonald at the helm, viewership plummeted from 411,000 in early 2020 to 280,000 a year later. By April 2021, the numbers had plunged even further, with just 224,000 metro viewers tuning in. Macdonald left the role after 18 months, stating that he was excited to be “moving into a new opportunity” and looked forward to working with the ABC in the future. ^[9]

The abuse Macdonald received on Twitter while hosting Q+A, which prompted him to deactivate his account in January 2021, contributed to his decision to leave the program. ^[10] Similarly, another ABC presenter, Lisa Millar, also decided to quit the social media site in September 2021 due to the abuse she was also receiving while hosting News Breakfast . ^[11] Both Macdonald and Millar's experiences prompted a public discussion about the high level of personal abuse and bullying Australian journalists face on Twitter, and how the platform can better manage the issue. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

ABC Radio National

As of 2023 ^[update] , Macdonald is a presenter and interviewer on Radio National's morning show, RN Breakfast, ^[14] and reports for Foreign Correspondent on ABC Television. ^[15]

Personal life

Macdonald attended Sydney school the Scots College. ^[16] After finishing school MacDonald attended Charles Sturt University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in communication.

Macdonald shares a media pedigree with his siblings. His older brother Rory is a producer and reporter with ABC Radio Sydney, while his older sister Kari Keenan is a producer for 2UE. ^[2]

In 2019, Macdonald came out as gay and is in a relationship with partner Jacob Fitzroy. ^[17] He got married in May 2023. ^{[18] [19]}

References

1. Hamish MacDonald Wins Young Journalist of the Year Award Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Charles Sturt University
2. The Al Jazeera Aussies The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 2006
3. "News Anchors". Al Jazeera. 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008.
4. "Hamish gets in late". The West Australian . 30 May 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
5. Idato, Michael (16 September 2013). "The truth is ... I'm leaving: Hamish Macdonald quits". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
6. Knox, David (21 July 2021). "Hamish Macdonald returning to The Project | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au/. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
7. Idato, Michael (3 January 2014). "Former Channel Ten correspondent Hamish Macdonald signs with US network ABC". The Age . Retrieved 3 January 2014.
8. Kelly, Vivienne (7 November 2019). "Hamish Macdonald confirmed to host ABC's Q&A in 2020". Mumbrella. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
9. Quinn, Karl (19 July 2021). "Q&A host Hamish Macdonald to leave ABC after 18 months". The Age. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
10. Quinn, Karl (21 August 2021). "'It was pretty isolating': Why Hamish Macdonald left Q+A to return to The Project". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
11. Quinn, Karl (17 September 2021). "'I wasn't looking to make a fuss': Why journalists are giving up on Twitter". The Age . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
12. Sales, Leigh (14 September 2021). "Bullying on Twitter has become unhinged. It's time to call out the personal, sexist attacks". ABC News . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
13. Knox, David (17 September 2021). ""I do 15 hours of live TV a week": Lisa Millar reflects on quitting Twitter". TV Tonight . Retrieved 18 September 2021.
14. "Interview with Hamish Macdonald, RN Breakfast, ABC". Treasury Ministers. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
15. "Hamish Macdonald". Saxton Speakers. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
16. "The first Scots College kid who tried to shame me turned out to be gay himself". The Age . 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
17. "'The Project' host Hamish Macdonald's ring fuels wedding rumours". Star Observer . 24 December 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
18. "Project host Hamish Macdonald ties knot in sweet ceremony". news.com.au.
19. The Project's Hamish Macdonald Gets Married! , retrieved 21 May 2023

External links

• The Al Jazeera Aussies Sydney Morning Herald

Media offices
Preceded by Originator Peter van Onselen	The Sunday Project Co-host with Lisa Wilkinson January 2018 – December 2019 August 2021 – present	Succeeded by Peter van Onselen Incumbent
Preceded by Tony Jones	Q+A Presenter February 2020 – July 2021	Succeeded by Stan Grant