Michigan Media

The first day of school this fall for Christy McDonald’s 6-year-old also was the day wind-whipped fire skittered across Detroit and scorched 85 buildings. McDonald had the standard list of questions for Caroline: How was it? Who are your friends? What did you think of the teacher? But she had to ask them over the phone from a WXYZ-TV truck on the east side, with sirens blaring in the background.

It’s never easy to balance kids and work, but it’s harder when your hours and whereabouts depend on whether power lines hold up in a stiff breeze or some crackhead decides it’s a good day to knock over a bank.

“Unpredictability,” McDonald said, “is not workable for me right now.” And that’s why, as of Wednesday, she no longer works for Channel 7.

It was a friendly parting from a dream job. The station graciously let her walk away from an anchor desk and go part-time five years ago, and she’ll always appreciate that. But now there are two more kids — to the ever-sensitive viewers who sent e-mails, yes, she wasgetting fat — and there’s no more part-time position.

The Detroit News

WXYZ-TV (Channel 7)’s Christy McDonald will be leaving the station Dec. 21, she said.

McDonald, who has worked at WXYZ for 10 years, told Names & Faces that station management would no longer let her work part time and instead wanted her as a full-time reporter.

“I love the station. I love this city,” she said. “It’s so painful to have to make this decision. But unfortunately, it’s not a life balance that works for me or my family right now.”

The Detroit Free Press