Hamish Macdonald On Mardi Gras, Diversity & Social Media

Hamish Macdonald is a journalist and presenter known for his role on The Project and for previously hosting ABC’S Q&A.

Macdonald has made a name for himself by delivering the news with heart and applying empathy to facts. It’s what landed him the gig at Q&A, and arguably it’s why The Project was so thrilled to have him back when that role ended.

Let’s face it, anyone can report on the facts, but Macdonald makes people care about them.

When I had the opportunity to chat with Macdonald he was in the middle of covering the flooding in NSW and assumedly pretty damp but he still thanked me for my time and that I think gives you the ultimate indication of what kind of person he is.

Currently, Macdonald is set to be covering Mardi Gras for The ABC, “It’s an incredible celebration and an opportunity to see friends, dance and hug! But, obviously, it comes from a strong political origin, and that is its heartbeat and that never disappears,” Macdonald said.

Of course, Mardi Gras tends to force everyone to think about how our industry can do better, and Macdonald is hyper-aware of where we are falling short, “I think the industry as a whole can always do better! I don’t think there’s any secret that Australia has struggled to diversify.

“I certainly noted that when I moved back from working in other parts of the world that in Australian media there tended to be a lot of people that looked and talked the same and came from the same type of backgrounds.

“Clearly that is changing, which is really positive but there’s more that can be done!”

Macdonald is also pragmatic about the industry tackling the lack of diversity, “I do think there are practical things that can be done in this space.

“I’ll speak from my own experience. If you are in any way seen to be reflecting or representing a minority in the public domain, that will attract a certain amount of abuse and harassment.

“This is compounded by the fact that increasingly the expectation is that you are on social media and you make yourself more accessible.”

And that’s, of course, where the problems start. While the media is keener to place LGBTQIA+ people as the face of things, they aren’t always equipped to deal with the response.

Macdonald told B&T, “It’s not always been my experience that corporations and employers are well equipped to deal with the downside of that.

“There’s got to be more than just sending people off for trauma counselling. You’ve got to be able to have a conversation about social media policies and respect in the workplace. And as the individual that’s coping, it can’t just be on you to explain to your employers and co-workers, “Hey, this is pretty bad!”

So how does Macdonald’s deal with it? Well for a start he doesn’t have a public Instagram account, “This isn’t for everyone, but I’ve often taken the response of not responding to harassment, and I’ve just tried to let it go and not elevate it.

“But I did find myself in a role and I genuinely couldn’t handle the amount of abuse. Not all of it was homophobic. It was very broad-ranged but it was all intense and on reflection, it is worth drawing some red lines and being clear when something isn’t okay or acceptable.

“For me personally going forward I’ll take that responsibility more seriously,”Macdonalds explained.

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