He served as West Coast editor for "Newsweek" from 1993 to 1996, with responsibility for editorial bureaus in Los Angeles and San Francisco. During this time McGuire directed the magazine's award-winning coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, the magazine's reporting on the fast-expanding entertainment industry and immigration issues, as well as major disasters such as the Southern California brush fires of 1993 and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He also helped to direct "Newsweek's" on-the-ground coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the Waco siege in 1993.