Hamish Macdonald

Hamish Macdonald's picture
Hamish Macdonald
Presenter and Correspondent | United Kingdom
Biography

Hamish Macdonald, based in London, is a presenter and award-winning correspondent. He has filed reports from across Asia, covered the US elections from Washington, and the Georgia-Russia war live from Tbilisi.

In 2008, Hamish was named Young Journalist of the Year by the British Royal Television Society. The jury noted his reporting of pro-democracy protests in Malaysia and the conflict in Afghanistan.

Latest posts by Hamish Macdonald

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 26th, 2009

IMG_0702.JPG

I was recently passed this link by John Owen at London's City University journalism school and thought it might be of interest to others.

The 'Hum News' posting considers what it calls the "Geographic Gap" of the contemporary news environment. That is, world news is covered by a very small number of news organisations and those organisations choose to only cover a small portion of the world's news. I know it sounds like a riddle, but it is the reality of international news.

Although there is now a proliferation of news outlets, particularly online, there are in fact fewer reliable, independent organisations actually gathering the information and delivering it in a balanced fashion.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 20th, 2009

 The US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once famously asked the question "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?" Now, for the very first time we have the answer to that question.

Baroness Cathy Ashton has been appointed Europe’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. In an interview with Aljazeera just moments after being chosen for the position she declared that she is the person Kissinger would call.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 18th, 2009
Photos by AFP

We've spent the day wading through the murky waters of European politics. Leaders from across Europe arrive here in Brussels on Thursday to choose the first ever President of the European Council.

But we really have no idea who they are going to choose. The process has already been described as "secretive" - so much so, the former Latvian President Vaire Vike-Freiberga (herself a candidate) told the Times newspaper that the EU should:

"stop working like the former Soviet Union"

There is much debate about whether to choose a tough, high profile leader in order to affirm Europe's role on the world stage, or alternatively appoint a low key consensus politician from one of the smaller EU states. Both options have their critics. 

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 17th, 2009

Picture_1.png

I thought this was an interesting observation on social media from the independent Australian Website Crikey.

The statement was sent to subscribers recently. It adds a note of caution for us all as we embrace new and social media platforms.

Dear Sole Subscriber,

 

The rise of social media presents vast opportunities for consumer empowerment, a more democratic media and resistance to the information control that the world’s worst regimes routinely practice.

 

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 5th, 2009

Picture_1.png

On Monday Germany will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There are loads of celebrations planned, which culminate in the "Festival of Freedom".

There will be heads of state and guests from all over the world, including the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. There's even going to be a performance (I'm reliably informed) by "the Hoff" (David Hasselhoff), who remains enormously popular in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn up for the open air concert.

The main event, however, is going to involve giant dominos. Around 1,000 of the over-sized blocks will be knocked down a two kilometre route passing through the Reichstagsufer, the Brandenburg Gate to Potsdamer Plastz. It's designed to symbolise the fall of the Berlin Wall.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 4th, 2009

Picture_2.png

It is hard to believe it was 20 years ago next week. I've been thinking about the fall of the Berlin Wall and remembering German classes at primary school in the Australian high country.

Our poor old German teacher was always trying valiantly to make the language relevant and exciting for us. And when the big political changes started to sweep across Eastern Europe, she used the 1983 pop hit "99 Luftbalons" by Nena to pique the interest of our young minds. German pop, particularly of the 80's variety, is an acquired taste, but this tune somehow managed to catch our attention.

Tags:
By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 3rd, 2009

56073201.jpg

It is always hard to sell stories about the European Union. Talking about treaties, constitutions, Brussels bureaucracy and proportional representation can make the most ardent news viewers fall asleep.

And so today was no different. Al Jazeera anchor David Foster threw over to me in London during the Newshour earlier with a friendly reminder that a simple mention of the EU generally sparks a collective yawn. My challenge was to make the story exciting.

But truth be told, today's developments in Europe don't need embellishing. The court decision in the Czech republic affects nearly half a BILLION people. And in a significant way.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on October 29th, 2009

Modern Warfare 2

Are we so desensitised to the whole concept of war, civilian killings and large scale public bloodshed that it is now okay to turn it into a computer game?

Activision, the publisher behind the popular Call of Duty series, is about to release into UK markets one of the most anticipated games of the year: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is expected to be one of the top selling items in stores this Christmas.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on October 27th, 2009
Photo by Getty Images

It was a shock to switch on British domestic television today to find the former Australian Prime Minister (now happily retired) turning up on a political chat show. Since his loss at the last election to Kevin Rudd's Labour party, John Howard has hardly said a word in public, much less on British television.

Despite a couple of years of near silence, it seems John Howard is still standing by his old mates. Remember the "coalition of the willing"?

So, on the topic of the day: should Tony Blair be given the new post of European President? Howard's reply:

"Its none of my business, but I'll express my view anyway ... I think the concept of a President of Europe is not one that appeals to me ... as an individual I had a great respect for Blair. I found him intelligent, I got on very well with him and the whole time he was Prime Minister of Great Britain I was Prime Minister of Australia."

By Hamish Macdonald in Middle East on October 23rd, 2009
Iranian Rock group 'Font', photo courtesy of London Film Festival

Ash Koosha and Negar Shaghagai are young Iranian rock singers. They star in a film called 'No one know about Persian Cats', which charts the story of Tehran's underground rock scene. On Saturday the film debuts at the London film festival and next week it will screen at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. See a short film trailer here.

Although the film is a drama, their story is real. The movie is part fiction, part documentary. They are very much part of Tehran's music scene and they have suffered at the hands of a political establishment unwilling to accept their form of art. Some members of their rock group have spent time in jail after being caught performing at illegal outdoor rock concerts.

Al Jazeera Live

Biography

Hamish Macdonald's picture
Hamish Macdonald
Presenter and Correspondent
Hamish Macdonald, based in London, is a presenter and award-winning correspondent.

What's Hot


Recent Comments

This work is licensed under Creative Commons. Please read our attribution policy.