Student media thrives at Edinburgh, and he believes that his time here contributed to his success so far. Politics (MA Hons) at the University of Edinburgh. CALUM Macdonald, who has died aged 55, was a journalist and crosswords editor who spent most of his career at The Herald. He was respected and admired by colleagues for his quick intelligence, decisiveness, cool head under pressure and capacity for sheer hard work. I get up exceptionally early (3:10am), present Early Breakfast to get you briefed on the mornings news, business and sport headlines. In 2001, Macdonald joined the Evening Times in Glasgow but after just nine months he was poached by the Daily Record. This article is about the British music critic and author. Copyright 2023 JLA. Hours after CCTV footage showed Watson setting fire to curtains at the Scottish Politician of the Year awards, he brusquely denied his culpability to Macdonald. And on the News team, we were really ambitious, I mean we were doing programmes that rival professional media organisations. What course are you studying? Not instead of the main media players, who still cover hard news pretty well if a major story breaks, but as a daily option for people who want to read about how ordinary fellow citizens are dealing with change and adversity, and be inspired and enthused. Thanks Dad: back to the future for a positive Scottish media alternative. FORMER Stirling Observer reporter Calum Macdonald died from cancer last week at the age of just 32. All the best things that have happened in my career have come entirely out of the blue. Following year: presented a news programme, entered the student radio awards, and won. Calum loved being at the middle of a breaking story but not, like some reporters, at the scene of the action he preferred to be back in the office, coordinating the coverage, bringing to bear his considerable flair for logistics. While it seems that younger people are engaging less and less in radio, using Spotify or other streaming services to listen to music, Calum thinks radio still has a fighting chance. In the November edition of the Politics of Sound, Iain Carnegie invites political journalist and presenter of the Early Morning Breakfast Show on Times Radio, Calum MacDonald to pay his own visit to the Politics of Sound virtual Record Shop to select his three all-time favourite albums. View the profiles of professionals named "Calum Macdonald" on LinkedIn. A Gannett Company. He fostered in Mhairi a love of books, encouraging her by reading the first Harry Potter book to her. How to respond? Life path number 9 But within a year he had switched to literature, attaining an honours degree. I'm not saying it's not me. Other books include a tourist guidebook to the city of Edinburgh and a multi-volume edition of the musical journalism of Havergal Brian. Right from the start of first year, graduation never seems that far away. 'The Orchestral Music' in Colin Scott-Sutherland (ed). ' I get into work at 4am. The two things that mattered most to Calum were Mhairi and protecting the future of quality journalism. Wholl write the articles? It was awesome.. 37 talking about this. FreshAirs always done something which is really impressive and had a really varied schedule. But how can you not treasure the thing that connects you with your closest family and friends so easily? contact the editor here. Everyones online, theres no getting away from that, so thats where people need to go to. It's not conclusive." Weve no plans for an office: us old hacks know that you find real stories by meeting people in the community, not churning endless press releases at your keyboard. From their very first ceilidh dance way back in 1973 to playing to a crowd of 50,000 fans over a wet weekend in Stirling a year ago, Calum MacDonald We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. Crosswords, I hear you. How will we do something a bit different to make interviews come to life?. I was being myself, I was doing what I loved and that made all the difference. The task came easily to him and he became a regular compiler and then crosswords editor for The Herald, Sunday Herald and The National, as well as editing two books of crosswords; he continued editing crosswords on a freelance basis after leaving the paper. I go on air at 5am. Im writing this on Tuesday 13th July, and my new routine is that I then go to the gym. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to (We reckon Positively Scottish will be one of the first sites in the world to marry solutions journalism with a national/regional USP.). The most interesting is people. Positively Scottish: so why we dont harness the Scottish USP to an agenda of solutions journalism, and see if theres an audience for that? Presenter | Times Radio Breakfast, Friday-Sunday 6am Event host, writer, podcast host Yet Calum Macdonald has achieved the seemingly impossible. His inquisitive, journalistic nature makes him a brilliant interviewer and host, keeping any audience engaged. Drop by, say hello in the comments and Calums mother Elizabeth (nee Mitchell), a graduate in maths and moral philosophy at Aberdeen University, was a school teacher before having a family. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. contact the editor here. Recently, we were able to dish out hundreds of face masks to our most loyal members just doing our bit to maintain PPE supplies across the nation, and around the world in fact. Titles are closing, remaining circulations are collapsing by around 10% every year, staff numbers are being slashed, and the only responses are widespread rationalisation, centralisation, and so-called synergies which logically can prolong the industry for only a finite time before it disappears into oblivion. By Calum Macdonald May 12, 2015 Experience Co-founder PositivelyScottish.scot Jun 2016 - Present6 years 8 months Scotland Helping run a not-for-profit online magazine telling inspiring stories. At his trial, Watson's defence claimed the incident might never have reached court had the images not been published following the tussle with Macdonald. You need to go and meet people where theyre at, you cant expect them just to come tumbling across your radio station.. Previously at the BBC, he has interviewed everyone from cabinet ministers to spies and protestors. My dad. In the words of Roy Thomson, owning an ITV franchise is a licence to print money and the newspaper barons also revel in circulations that total millions. Presented with images of the incident and informed he was being recorded, the former Labour peer answered: "I can't say that that's me. Because youve kept in touch with these people, and demonstrated a bit of what you can do, then they can kind of point you in the right direction when opportunities are going to be coming up.. He has integrity, he's made history, and I firmly believe his journalism has changed the world . All those emotions would be valid if you believe that Scotland has fundamentally changed, and no longer needs the written media it once consumed so voraciously. The couple separated latterly, but remained close. He contributed chapters to symposia on Brahms, Alan Bush, Erik Bergman, Shostakovich, Bernard Stevens, Ronald Stevenson, Varse, an essay on Czesaw Marek to a symposium on Swiss Composers, and another on Scottish composers to a symposium on musical nationalism in Great Britain and Finland. A solution in solutions journalism: its a well documented fact that the UK follows after many American trends think music, TV, food. Presenter | Times Radio Breakfast, Friday-Sunday 6am Event host, writer, podcast host Menu. Macdonald had intended to revisit North Uist, where recently he traced his family roots in a journalistic exercise for The Herald, but was prevented by his brief but brutal illness, which was endured with stoic good humour and fortitude. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. I think in all areas of media work, its easy to get jealous of others and get frustrated. Biography [ edit] MacDonald was born in Nairn, Scotland and educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh and Downing College, Cambridge. I cant believe someone designed this as an actual career. He and Christine ran their own company for a time, producing personalised crosswords. The task came easily to him and he became a regular compiler and then crosswords editor for The Herald, Sunday Herald and The National, as well as editing two books of crosswords; he continued editing crosswords on a freelance basis after leaving the paper. Born in Dumbarton in April, 1976, Calum was dux of Keil School before going to Aberdeen. Starting as a reporter in Glasgow, he soon joined the newsdesk, moving on to be Night News Editor. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. His most recent venture, Positively Scottish, grew out of a desire to counter what he felt was a disappointing excess of negativity in Scottish news journalism. Nowadays, Calum is living his dream: "I'm currently a broadcast journalist with BBC Radio 5 Live, so primarily producing programmes, occasionally reporting on various bits and pieces, reading the news from time to time, and recording various interviews and podcasts. You can make a complaint by using the report this post link . In 1990, the confident young man of ability was encouraged to apply to The Herald by the papers then education correspondent, Barclay McBain (now executive editor), who had met him during a press trip to West Germany. So no, nerves are good, [they] keep you on your toes. Outside of work, Calum Macdonald was a loyal friend and a very proud father. Retaining a grip on his exclusive story, the reporter duly advised the anxious members of the press pack outside that they could find out what happened by buying the next day's Record. "I took a simple little theme and developed it": Shostakovich's string concertos and sonatas' in Pauline Fairclough and David Fanning (eds), 'Sense and Sound: Gerhard's Fourth Symphony' (, 'Visionary and Craftsman: Scriabin and Enescu' (, 'Visionary Ecstasy: Szymanowski's Third Symphony' (, 'Unreconciled Spirit: Franz Liszt 100 Years On' (, 'Sombre Tragedy: Karl Amadeus Hartmann's Symphonies' (, 'John Foulds (18801939). Their daughter, Mhairi, was born in 1996. on Interview: Calum Macdonald explores where the future of radio lies, Bringing Autumn to you: Inspirational budget tips for that real Autumnal feel, Lemn Sissays Origin Stories: The poet discusses orphans in popular culture. Calum covers the news on the Times Radio breakfast show. After graduating in 1983, he was accepted onto the Thomson Regional Newspaper trainee scheme, at the end of which he was described as a confident young man of ability and good humour who would be an asset to any news team. Looking back on his time at university, Calum regards FreshAir as hugely important, describing it as just a good playground, to try stuff out. I also pop up across the rest of the schedule if other people are taking holidays. He was always clear in his opinions and priorities, and reporters appreciated his straight answers when offering story suggestions. He made a group of lifelong friends during training and at his first job on the P&J, where he remained for seven years, during which time he was instrumental in helping re-establish the Grampian Press Ball and set up the Highland Press Ball. Book Calum Macdonald +44 (0)20 7907 2800 agent@jla.co.uk Synopsis Calum covers the news on the Times Radio breakfast show. He did this alongside tutoring student journalists at Strathclyde University. Bitterness? We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com. Tell us about your Early Breakfast Club and how to get involved. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. I restart the day at about 10:30am. But it is not the only way. heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment. Calums mother Elizabeth (nee Mitchell), a graduate in maths and moral philosophy at Aberdeen University, was a school teacher before having a family. The sports writer has died (at the good age of 85) and the son finds himself like so many others too old/expensive for a legacy print industry which is in spiralling decline, collectively bemused by the digital revolution. I certainly did. Calum, the eldest of three, had a flair for English at secondary school. My phone. As a reporter, Night News Editor, Digital Editor for the Herald & Times group and as Group News Editor the job he loved the most he was an intrinsic part of the newspaper for 25 years. He's covered programmes on Afghanistan, the death of the Duke of Edinburgh and has interviewed interesting people from all walks of life including cabinet ministers and senior politicians, spies, war reporters and protestors. A Gannett Company. Readers comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. And my new routine is that I then go to months he was respected admired! The thing that connects you with your closest family and friends so easily joined the,. Across your Radio station did this alongside tutoring student journalists at Strathclyde University getting away from that so! Come tumbling across your Radio station that far away knowledge and insights to our stories were really ambitious I... And protecting the future for a time, producing personalised crosswords the world from cancer last at... Radio station away from that, so thats where people need to go to always... 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