4 Journalist Spotlight: Jeff McDonald
Jeff McDonald
Years in journalism: I began my first full-time job in the summer of 1988, so 35 and counting. That doesn’t include several years of internships and freelancing work before I graduated.
Current job title: Staff writer, San Diego Union-Tribune
Educational background: I have an Associate of Arts degree in liberal arts from Santa Monica College. I also earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and communications studies from Sonoma State University, and later received a Master of Arts degree in nonprofit leadership and management from the University of San Diego.
What skills do you use the most in your job?
The most important skills I use in my work are listening and written communications. It’s critical to hear what people are telling you and figuring out why they are saying what they are telling you. I frequently tell sources that it’s OK to have an agenda – everyone does – but it’s important to see and understand that motivation and separate it from whatever issue they are describing. I also focus a lot on researching operations of various systems or policymaking, like how jails work compared to how they are supposed to work or how elected bodies operate given the inescapable politics at play. It’s also important to find third-party experts (like Professor Hiro) to educate yourself about the stuff you are researching.
What skills do you wish you learned in college?
One of my weaknesses in my work is information technology. I’m constantly seeking help with various computer programs, data analysis and other technological tools that younger colleagues have mastered. I have learned enough to get by, but even moreso, I’ve learned when to recognize the gaps or holes in my understanding and to ask for help.
Describe a day in the life of your job.
I spend a lot of time speaking with sources, writing and responding to emails, reading public agendas, staff reports, court records, audits and other public records. I also research people and companies, file requests for information and/or public records. I keep up with the news, both local work from U-T colleagues and other San Diego news outlets as well as state and national media. This helps a great deal when I’m called on to jump into an issue I have yet to research on my own.
What is your most memorable assignment and/or favorite memory from your career?
There are so many to choose from. I learned early on how impactful journalism can be when I did a story on a young family with no resources to treat their daughter’s cancer. Within hours of that story being published, so many donations had poured in that the family was able to travel to a nationally regarded medical center for treatment. I also have had the good fortune of seeing people locked up for crimes I exposed. There is something especially satisfying in seeing people admit guilt or be found guilty, and then be sentenced for those crimes. We get a lot of guff from the subjects of our stories, so being validated by law enforcement officials, regulators or even voters is hugely rewarding.
What are the biggest joys and challenges you face in your job?
The joys have remained consistent over many years: Holding people, government agencies and corporations accountable is unparalleled. One series of stories I wrote about a wayward utility company resulted in a $775 million rebate to customers. Another series exposed a rampant fraud ring at a local food bank – where people were selling tons of donated groceries at swap meets and 99-cent stores – and forced the officials to improve their business practices. I also have gotten many people convicted, fired or otherwise removed from the public square – always for reasons that were more than justified. The challenge in recent years has been access to information and even to interviews. In the early days of my career, I could call city hall and get the mayor on the phone to shoot the breeze on any number of issues. Now we have to tell a gatekeeper what specifically we want to ask, and we are lucky to get a statement in response. The problem with that is we don’t get a full view of motivations, responses or what’s next for an official or agency; instead, we get only what limited information they choose to release and we are left to report that they refused to comment on specific questions. One additional challenge is the move to remote work. The U-T no longer has a newsroom, meaning we do not get to overhear each others’ phone calls or trade barbs about local developments. This robs all of us, especially the younger journos, of the key learning opportunity you get from seeing and watching more experienced coworkers do their jobs.
What changes have you seen in this industry?
When I began at a small weekly newspaper in Mendocino County, we used computers to generate our stories, but they were little more than word processors. There was no internet, no social media. One of the first things I did was order telephone books from all the neighboring counties so we could find people when we needed to. When fax machines came of age, I was able to save drive time and other errands. The internet, email, social media and big data have all greatly affected the way we do journalism these days, much for the better. But the basic skills of listening, studying and communicating effectively and fairly have not changed.
What advice do you have for student journalists?
The work is hugely rewarding but it’s fair to say you will never get rich doing journalism, so if that is a priority, find something else to earn a paycheck. That said, there is a living to be made for those who are good and passionate and fair and committed. I have been able to buy a house, get two daughters through college without debt and squirrel away a few acorns for retirement on a Union-Tribune salary. The work is not glamorous – lots of reading, writing and speaking, and you must learn to keep your opinions to yourself and not disclose who else you are speaking to. But the job is a hoot, a front-row seat to society, a license to ask questions and pester the ruling class. You get access to some of the most important and interesting people you can imagine, and you get to do things like jump out of an airplane or visit the nation’s most secret laboratories.
What else do you want new journalism students to know about being a journalist?
Like any job, the work can be frustrating (editors!?!), but it’s better than anything else I have tried. Also, I can report that many people I know are fascinated by the job, and rightly so. My daughters’ teachers and their friends’ parents regularly tell them they saw my stories and were impressed. I have literally been stopped in stores or on the street by people who know me or my work more times than I can count. I do believe journalism is a critical element of a healthy and functioning democracy, and for that reason alone I am privileged to practice it. It is a huge responsibility, but one that can and does prompt terrific change.
