Ronald H. Macdonald

LEXINGTON, VA. – Ronald H. MacDonald, 75, of Lexington, Va., died July 3, 2008, after a lengthy illness. He was born Aug. 27, 1932, in Barre, a son of the late Della and Reginald MacDonald. He was educated in Barre elementary schools and was a 1950 graduate of Spaulding High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Pat Calcagni, in 1953. He was a graduate of Vermont Junior College in 1952 and graduated cum laude from Boston University in 1954. He worked at radio stations WSKI in Montpelier, WDEV in Waterbury and WORL and WBUR in Boston, Mass.

He moved to Roanoke, Va., in 1956, where he worked for WDBJ's radio and television operations at a time when television news was still in its infancy. MacDonald served as reporter, anchor, assignment editor and news director before leaving to become an associate professor of journalism at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He was appointed full professor in 1975. For 10 years, from 1974 to 1984, he served as department head.

MacDonald was the author of "A Broadcast Manual of Style," which became a standard for the local news industry. He received the Gallimore Award for Distinguished Service in the Public Interest: The Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters in 1998, plus numerous shared awards to the WDBJ-TV News Department for the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters, including five Best News Operation of the Year honors and three Douglas Southall Freeman awards for Outstanding Public Service through Broadcast Journalism.

He was awarded the Virginia Regional winner, UPI Best Feature "Scenic Overlooks" 1985 and the Sigma Delti Chi "Significant Achievement Award" for work in ethics of journalism in 1986.

MacDonald taught journalism for 32 years at W&L and when he retired from teaching in 2001, he counted his former students working in the newsrooms around the country as his greatest accomplishment.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Pat; a son, Bradley; daughter-in-law, Sandra and step-granddaughter, Sara.