Neil Macdonald

After more than 19 years working with CBC Television News, Neil Macdonald's news reporting continues to earn him critical acclaim.

Since 2003, Macdonald has been The National's Washington senior correspondent, following more than a decade as a reporter on Parliament Hill. His journalism career spans five federal elections, six prime ministers, and a five-year assignment in the Middle East.

Macdonald received a Gemini award in 2004 for his coverage of the political violence in Haiti. He earned a second Gemini for 'Best Reportage' for his reporting on the U.S. economic and financial crisis in 2009.

He speaks English and French fluently, and Arabic conversationally.

• 4. Politics and the Covering of It

  Macdonald has been reporting for 33 years, much of that time on politics. On Parliament Hill, on Capitol Hill, certain realities never change. Macdonald brings humour and perspective to the exercise of power, going back three decades.

• 3. Americans and Everyone Else

  Canadian, and European discourse is still laced with a broad streak of anti-Americanism, sometimes to the point of smugness. Macdonald has spoken and written extensively about the American reality, which is often at odds with perceptions north of the border.

• 2. Speech Issues

  One of the strongest urges in any society is the desire to control what other people say. Governments, special interest groups, social activists are all at it, all the time, most advocating free speech for themselves, but a lot less for everyone else. Macdonald is close to an absolute free-speecher, and can talk about the perils of restricting what is probably our most precious freedom.

• 1. Journalism and its Malcontents

  While he is a vocal supporter of the need for an untrammelled press, Macdonald is up front about the foibles and weaknesses of his craft, and how "news judgment" is practised, especially on international stories. Viewers and readers have the right to transparency. Macdonald is willing, perhaps more than most, to pull back the curtain and talk about how journalists and editors make decisions that ultimately help shape events and policy.

• Mr. Macdonald gave an engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking lecture, striking a finely-crafted balance between his on-the-ground reporting experience, broader reflections on future possibilities, and humorous anecdotes. The feedback that I received after the lecture, from the general public, students and academics alike, was unanimously positive, indeed laudatory!
  Department of Political Science, University of Alberta
• Macdonald's delivery is excellent, he always comes very well prepared, and he is very knowledgeable in a wide variety of contemporary topics. He is an imposing presence who keeps his audience riveted.
  Dr. Mel Hurtig
• For a journalist, even one as experienced as Mr. Macdonald to venture into a session with close to one hundred of the most senior managers of an intelligence agency, was a venture into a lion's den. Clearly, however, he relished the opportunity to speak to an audience interested in many of the same subjects, albeit from a very different vantage point. In his remarks, Mr. Macdonald, who was, as always, articulate, challenged his listeners to think about issues in a different way. While I cannot report that he succeeded in converting his listeners, which might in any case have worried me, his speech was thoughtful and more than fulfilled our goal of stimulating a broader discussion.
  Ward Elcock, Former Director of CSIS