James McDonald’s dream of working in the television industry came true in July when he was hired as a field correspondent for WBOC, a CBS affiliate in Salisbury, Maryland.

McDonald landed an on-air role for the station’s Delmarva Life program, a lifestyle and culture show which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. Hosts Jimmy Hoppa and Lisa Bryant work primarily from the studio while McDonald hits the road to gather news, interviews, and visuals from the Delaware and Maryland beaches as well as Virginia Beach.

A Communication and Digital Media major who graduated in 2024, he still remembers attending Neumann’s Studio Day as a high school senior in 2019. "The CDM faculty -- Sean McDonald, Kerry Hustwit, Dr. Glass, and Janis Chakars -- really sold the deal for me,” McDonald recalls. “They talked about all of the opportunities that would be possible at Neumann, and they've kept their promises."

McDonald’s academic experiences included internships at QVC and PHL-17. He describes the PHL-17 semester as “one of the best choices I made” even though he was assigned to the early shift, which began at 3:30 a.m.

“I wrote about 30 short pieces that made it on air and went on assignment with some of the reporters there.” News director Alex Butler even took McDonald under her wing, filming some mock stand-ups of him and providing feedback.

 On campus, his involvement with Neumann Media and WNUW proved critical to his development as a professional. He was part of the team that produced Neumann Update, an online news report, and Mac on the Mic, a music and talk radio show. He even hosted his own Jimmy Fallon-style talk show.

He helped plan College Radio Day celebrations on campus and participated in Campout for Hunger, a massive charitable event that is hosted by the Preston and Steve Show every year on WMMR.

As a senior, McDonald traveled to the College Broadcasters, Inc. Conference in Orlando, Florida, and used the opportunity to network and begin generating contacts for potential jobs.

He interviewed at 15-20 television stations from all around the country, one as far away as Fargo, North Dakota.

“I got a few offers but waited for the right one,” he explains. “I jumped at the WBOC opportunity when it came.”

Watch McDonald’s August 1 debut on WBOC.