Robert Terry McDonell (born August 1, 1944) is an American editor, writer and publishing executive.

His memoir, The Accidental Life: An Editor's Notes on Writing and Writers, was published by Knopf in 2016, and he is also the author of Irma: The education of a Mother's Son (2023).

[6] That digital growth along with newsstand sales and reader satisfaction scores for the weekly were among the reasons McDonell was named one of Sports Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business in 2007[7] and a member of Adweek’s Magazine Executive Team of the Year.

After Esquire, he was editor-in-chief and publisher of Sports Afield, which he relaunched as an upscale hunting and fishing magazine.

[23] McDonell appeared as himself on Saturday Night Live ("Prose and Cons") in 1981;[24] and hosted the television talk show Last Call produced by Brandon Tartikoff and MCA ((19904-95).