Donald Morrison

Background

About Donald Morrison

I’m currently an Associate at Forward Risk, where I conduct investigative due diligence, business intelligence research and international risk assessments for financial institutions, corporations and law firms. I'm also an author and celebrated investigative journalist known for writing a long-form investigative piece shedding light on the death of legendary Bay Area rapper Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks. After graduating from college during the pandemic, I used my down time requesting more than 1,300 pages of never before seen case files from the Kansas City Police Department. I was given everything from autopsy photos, to transcripts of suspect interviews. It took me 10 months to conduct over two dozen interviews and put together a story that broke open one of hip-hop’s biggest mysteries. The story was published on the blog Passion of the Weiss and has since gone viral, breaking site records for most viewed story. I’ve appeared on numerous podcasts discussing my investigation and have since written a a biography about Mac Dre titled "Mac Dre: A Crime That Was Never Committed." During that time I relocated to New York City and was a Reporter and News Apprentice at Law360, where I wrote more than 200 breaking legal news stories in just over three years. I honed my breaking news and research skills as a reporting intern at the Los Angeles bureau of The Wall Street Journal in 2020. I wrote news stories and features, took photos and contributed video reporting on wildfire coverage in three states. I covered the election, protests and even a dispute between two well-to-do neighbors in Laguna Beach that involved the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song. Afterwards, I worked the education beat at a small newspaper in Hermosa Beach called Easy Reader News. I covered local schools in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, where tension between city officials and school boards reached a fever pitch over the reopening debate. I'm a 2020 University of Oregon graduate, who was also awarded the Standard Bearer award through the UO School of Journalism and Communication. I spent my entire four years of undergraduate heavily involved in student newspapers. For this last year, I was the Managing Editor of the Daily Emerald and a reporting intern with the Eugene Weekly. I also participated in the UO Catalyst program, which takes an investigative/solutions approach to news writing. Please reach out with any opportunities or questions. I'd love to talk.