Donald MacCormick

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Donald MacCormick
Born
Donald MacCormick

16 April 1939
Money Programme
Spouses
Lis MacKinlay
(divorced)
  • Liz Elton
Children5

Donald MacCormick (16 April 1939[1] – 12 July 2009)[2] was a Scottish broadcast journalist.

Early life

MacCormick's father was a Glasgow teacher who died when Donald was six. As a result, he became close to the family of his uncle John MacCormick, a lawyer and advocate for Scottish devolution.[3]

He studied English at the

Jordanhill College of Education and taught at the High School of Glasgow from 1962 to 1967.[4]

Media career

He began his media career in Scotland in 1967, working at Grampian Television as a news reporter and then later, on political programmes both for ITV and BBC. He presented the ground-breaking political programme Public Account for BBC Scotland with James Cox and Andrew Neil.

In 1975, he moved to London and became a presenter on BBC1's new

Money Programme and for several years was a commentator on the BBC's live coverage of the party political conferences
.

Moving to

London News Direct
.

MacCormick had moved into the corporate sector, interviewing executives for company videos, chairing conferences and working in media training.[1]

On 28 March 2009 MacCormick returned to the BBC to present an evening on

vote of no confidence in the Labour government headed by James Callaghan
. 30 years previously MacCormick had presented a live programme in Westminster covering these same events.

MacCormick died of a heart attack on 12 July 2009. He was divorced from Lis MacKinlay, by whom he had three children. He was married to Liz Elton from 1978 until his death; they had two children. All five children survive MacCormick.

Former Liberal Democrat leader

Sir Menzies Campbell, who first met MacCormick at Glasgow University in 1959, paid tribute to the broadcaster saying: "Donald MacCormick was a prince among broadcasters. His style was always civil but insistent. He was always thoroughly prepared and his kind of journalism characterised all that is best in the BBC."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Birthdays: Donald MacCormick, The Times, 16 April 2009.
  2. ^ Veteran BBC newsman dies aged 70, BBC News, 12 July 2009.
  3. ^ Wilson, Brian (14 July 2009). "Donald McCormick". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Donald MacCormick". 23 July 2009 – via telegraph.co.uk.
  5. ^ Veteran BBC Journalist Donald MacCormick dies, The Guardian, 13 July 2009.

External links