Patrick Range McDonald is an author, journalist, and activist. Throughout his career, he’s sought truth, held the powerful to account, and given voice to the voiceless.
Through his longtime work in journalism and activism, and through his extensive traveling around the world and personal experiences, McDonald holds a unique understanding of life, power, and how the world operates. It informs all his writing.
McDonald’s work has received numerous awards.
As an investigative reporter at L.A. Weekly, McDonald earned numerous awards, including “Journalist of the Year” from the Los Angeles Press Club and the national “Public Service” award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia.
For the “Journalist of the Year” award, judges wrote: “‘Range’ is an appropriate middle name. What incredibly detailed reporting on a variety of complicated topics. What an ability to make us feel as if we know the players. What skill in explaining messy situations. The very essence of solid journalism.”
For the “Public Service” award, McDonald wrote a major exposé that played a key role in restoring funding for the Los Angeles Public Library system, which provides crucial services to young people from underserved neighborhoods, seniors, immigrants, working-class families, the unemployed, and students.
He’s also written for Politico magazine, Advocate, New Times – LA, New York Press, and Westchester County Weekly, among other publications.
As an author, McDonald co-wrote the memoir of Richard J. Riordan, the maverick former mayor of Los Angeles. Titled The Mayor: How I Turned Around Los Angeles After Riots, an Earthquake and the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial, the book became a New York Times and Los Angeles Times best seller.
McDonald also wrote Righteous Rebels: AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Crusade to Change the World. It tells the inspiring, untold story of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s largest HIV/AIDS medical-care nonprofit.
In a rave review, The Lancet, the prestigious medical journal, wrote: “McDonald has managed a deft balancing act with this book: on one hand providing a fascinating inside view of a billion-dollar non-profit organization, while on the other hand providing a history of both the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the AIDS crisis, full of human interest and compelling portraits of the major players in the organization. However, this book was written with a larger purpose in mind: to inspire readers to take action and to provide a ‘blueprint for how anyone can absolutely change the world.'”
McDonald was then the historical consultant for the documentary Keeping the Promise: AHF 30 Years, narrated by Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep. He co-wrote the script and gathered video footage and photographs for the film.
He is currently the advocacy journalist for Housing Is A Human Right, one of the leading housing justice organizations in the United States. For his work, McDonald earned the “Best Activism Journalism” award from the Los Angeles Press Club for an investigation into L.A.’s gentrification crisis. Judges noted: “This article does a great job of presenting a complex topic in a clear, understandable way.”
He also wrote Selling Off California: The Untold Story, a short book that exposes the back-room alliances and devastating policies that fuel the housing affordability and homelessness crises in California. It was a finalist for a Los Angeles Press Club award.
In addition, McDonald has worked on three ballot measures in California to end statewide rent control restrictions, writing numerous articles and hard-hitting special reports about the real estate industry’s destructive housing agenda.
And he wrote an eye-popping exposé about corporate landlords and the California Apartment Association spending millions in campaign contributions to sway local and state political races throughout California. It’s a story that’s never been told in such depth.
With his deep knowledge about the real estate industry, McDonald started a monthly column, in 2025, for Housing Is A Human Right called “The Real Dirt.” It exposes Big Real Estate’s culture of lies, scams, and other unscrupulous acts, which impacts the lives of millions.
He also founded Letters From Over Here on Substack, a global community that offers righteous journalism and unique ideas and writing. It can be followed on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. At its former home on Medium, McDonald wrote a ground-breaking essay on the life and work of world-renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
McDonald was born in Newark, New Jersey, and he’s now based in Los Angeles, California. He can be followed on Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.