[citation needed] From 1993 to 1999, McDonell reported for the radio current affairs programs AM, The World Today and PM.
[3][4] The latter led to a warning to the ABC by the Chinese Embassy that there would be "wider implications" over its Foreign Correspondent report.
[6] Significant events McDonell has reported on with the BBC include the 2019-20 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.
[8] During the 2021 Henan floods, as several foreign journalists at the location were confronted by angry crowds who accused them of negative portrayals of China, McDonell said on Twitter that this was a "clearly orchestrated campaign of harassment" with a focus on the BBC.
[13] McDonell has won several Walkley Awards including one for investigative journalism in 1996,[2] for coverage of the Asia Pacific region in 2008,[14] and for Radio news reporting in 2008 about the Sichuan earthquake.