Hamish Macdonald is joining ABC as a London-based international affairs correspondent, ABC News president Ben Sherwood announced today.
Macdonald comes from the Ten Network in Australia, where was senior foreign affairs correspondent and anchor/executive producer of the network’s primetime public affairs program. In a note to ABC staffers, Sherwood called Macdonald “one of the best storytellers of his generation.”
“Hamish is a dynamic addition to our outstanding international newsgathering team,” Sherwood wrote.
Macdonald will spend the next few months in New York before moving to the London bureau. The full note from Sherwood is after the jump.
I’m delighted to share that Hamish Macdonald is joining ABC News as an international affairs correspondent based in London.
One of the best storytellers of his generation, Hamish comes to ABC News from one of the biggest broadcasters in Australia, the Ten Network, where he served as senior foreign correspondent and anchor and executive producer of the primetime public affairs program “The Truth Is.”
Hamish is drawn to some of the most dangerous places in the world, often the front lines of war.
He has reported on the fighting in Afghanistan, street riots in Asia and from Tbilisi during the attacks in the Georgia-Russia war.
He was on the ground in Egypt and Libya to witness the tumultuous events of the Arab Spring, traveled underground through Gaza’s smuggling tunnels and investigated refugee conditions in Malaysia, famine in the Horn of Africa and border incursions between India and China.
Hamish, who speaks 3 languages, has interviewed some of the world’s most famous and infamous figures, including Jemaah Islamiyah’s Abu Bakar Bashir, leader of the Southeast Asian terrorist organization. Hamish most recently sat down with Burmese human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi during her first ever visit to Australia.
Hamish is a dynamic addition to our outstanding international newsgathering team.
A competitive ocean swimmer and avid skier who grew up racing with future Aussie Olympians, Hamish will spend the next few months in New York before moving to the London bureau full time.
Please join me in welcoming him to ABC News.
Ben