Hamish MacDonald

Hamish MacDonald is an international broadcast journalist. In 2006, he became the first Australian news anchor of Al Jazeera English, a leading international news network headquartered in Doha, Qatar.

Hamish MacDonald won the " Young Journalist of the Year" award at the Royal Television Society awards in London, on the 20th February 2008.

Career

Upon earning a journalism degree from Charles Sturt University in 2002, Macdonald began a short stint as a reporter covering politics in Canberra with regional broadcaster WIN. He moved to the United Kingdom, where he reported for Channel 4 and ITV. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

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. [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/Archive/Archive?ArchiveID=35266 News Anchors at Al Jazeera English] , 2008.]

His "thick Aussie accent" precluded a reporting career in London, so he studied Bahasa Indonesian language at night to shift his career to South East Asia. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

In early 2006, MacDonald worked as a producer for Al Jazeera English's regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the summer of 2006, he was hired as a news anchor at the Kuala Lumpur News Bureau of Al Jazeera English, the 24-hour English-language sister channel of Al Jazeera, the leading Arabic broadcast network. Al Jazeera became controversial due to accusations by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of aiding the terrorist group Al Qaeda Network by airing taped messages from Osama bin Laden. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

Fellow Australians

MacDonald is one of the youngest news anchors in the international news industry. He is proud to join fellow Australians of Al Jazeera English, Hugh Riminton of CNN, and Stan Grant also of CNN, in the global television news. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Aljazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

Family

Macdonald shares a media pedigree with his siblings. His older brother Rory is a producer and reporter with ABC 702 in Sydney, while his older sister Kari Keenan is a producer for 2UE. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

Quotations

* "I've got to admit, I'm nervous. I don't think I'd ever put myself in the same category as Hugh Riminton and Stan Grant. I've got a long way to go before I can even be mentioned in the same sentence as them." [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies] , 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/Archive/Archive?ArchiveID=35266 News Anchors at Al Jazeera English]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-aljazeera-aussies/2006/05/06/1146335966101.htm The Al Jazeera Aussies]
* [http://www.aljazeera.net/english/ Al Jazeera English]

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