WHYY reporter Tom MacDonald is a lifelong Philadelphia-area resident who has worked in the region since the mid-1980s. Tom started in commercial radio covering the MOVE standoff with police for WFIL-AM. He was also City Hall Bureau Chief, covering government and politics for more than a decade, for WWDB-FM.
Tom has been heard on numerous stations in the region during the decade he worked for Metro Traffic, doing news, traffic, and weather.
Tom has also been heard nationally, filing reports for NPR, ABC News Radio, NBC Radio, and CBS Radio.
He has won the Associated Press award for his coverage of the protests of the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia and a Religious Communicators award for a post-9/11 documentary he did with the late Peter Jennings.
More from the Contributor
State lawmaker from Philly wants sanctuary cities to pay for crimes by immigrants
A Republican state lawmaker from Philadelphia is planning to introduce a bill to hold “sanctuary cities” liable for legal dam ...
9 years ago
Listen
Former Mayor Street says Philly soda tax could pass
Now that the top has been popped on a potential Philadelphia soda tax, the battle lines are being drawn. One former opponen ...
9 years ago
Listen
Kenney delivers $4 billion spending plan with call for soda tax
There were no major surprises in Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s first budget address Thursday. “It feels really good ...
9 years ago
Listen
Social financing gets a hearing before City Council
City Council had a recent briefing on a new concept for funding social service projects. “Social impact bonds,” ...
9 years ago
Listen
Kenney budget depends on soda tax approval
As Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney prepared to deliver his first budget address Thursday morning, the linchpin of his plan — a tax on sug ...
9 years ago
ListenSustainability hearing brings request for green task force
Philadelphia City council members talked about a more sustainable purchasing policy during a hearing Wednesday. Trevor Day, ...
9 years ago
Listen
Literacy center opens new location in Philadelphia
A new Philadelphia literacy center has opened its doors to adults who want to learn to read. The new ...
9 years ago
ListenSmoking policy notification bill clears Philly City Council hurdle
Reacting to complaints from non-smokers, a Philadelphia City Council committee has approved a bill demanding potential tenants be notifie ...
9 years ago
ListenKenney declares soda tax war, enlisting advocates for the fight
A soda war has begun in Philadelphia and it’s not Pepsi vs. Coke. While speaking to a group of literacy advocates, Mayor Jim K ...
9 years ago
ListenZika virus found in Philly resident who’s recovering
The first case of Zika infection has been discovered in a Philadelphia resident, a woman over 60 who recently returned from the Caribbean ...
9 years ago
Listen
PAL day brings students to City Hall to shadow officials
Police Athletic League Day at Philadelphia City Hall brought young people from across the city to shadow government officials. ...
9 years ago
Listen
Push for changing uniformity clause gaining momentum in Philadelphia
For nearly a year, major business leaders in Philadelphia have been pushing to hike taxes on commercial properties in order to spur job g ...
9 years ago
Listen