Meet Christy McDonald
Christy McDonald is an Emmy Award-winning TV anchor, speaker, and moderator who has covered news in Detroit and Michigan for 30 years. She is currently the founder of SamMac Communications Inc. and speaks to groups on presence, resilience, owning your story, and caregiving. She also works with leaders and company teams on power dynamics, strategic listening, and confidence skills.
Christy specialized in political coverage, in-depth reporting, and live news events, most recently at WDIV Local 4. She created exclusive streaming programming for Local 4+, which included the interview series A Conversation With and award-winning car lover spotlight What’s In That Garage. She created the streaming newscast The Daily Plus Live and anchored breaking news and election coverage across all platforms. Christy’s continuous coverage and analysis of the Crumbley trials contributed to WDIV’s 2025 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
Prior to WDIV, Christy was the Managing Editor/Anchor for WTVS Detroit PBS for 11 years. She created and anchored the station’s award-winning weekly flagship politics/news shows MiWeek and One Detroit. Christy anchored special coverage, including documentaries, live events, and the Mackinac Policy Conference. She was instrumental in forming a local journalism hub for Detroit PBS and creating standards for editorial content. Christy contributed to the PBS NewsHour with reports on Detroit’s financial crisis and Michigan elections. She appeared on CNN with political perspectives and has co-moderated two Gubernatorial debates in Michigan.
A sought-after moderator, Christy has led lively discussions at the Detroit Economic Club, Detroit Policy Conference, Business Leaders for Michigan CEO Summit, and the Mackinac Policy Conference. She’s known for her in-depth interviews with Fortune 500 leaders, including Bill Ford Jr. (Ford), Julie Sweet (Accenture), Tricia Keith (BCBS Michigan), Peter Quigley (Kelly Services), Dug Song (Duo Securities), Paula Kerger (PBS), and Roz Brewer (Walgreens Boots Alliance).
Christy connected with Detroit viewers for 10 years on WXYZ TV as an anchor and reporter. She covered the big stories from the 9/11 attacks in New York to political corruption in the city of Detroit. She received the Emmy Award for Best News Anchor in Michigan as well as numerous reporting honors from the Associated Press, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, and Society for Professional Journalists.
Christy is a passionate advocate for colorectal cancer awareness after her husband, Jamie Samuelsen, died from CRC in August 2020. Samuelsen was a beloved fixture in Detroit sports talk radio and urged listeners to get colonoscopies as his last radio message before he passed away.
Christy has advocated in her late husband’s name with fundraisers, speaking at local cancer charity events, and nationwide media appearances to continue the message of early screening. She is the 2022 recipient of the Barry Bremen Memorial Inspiration Award from the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation for her advocacy work.
Christy is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College with a degree in political philosophy. She is currently navigating the life of a solo parent to three amazing young adults.
Christy is writing a book titled Thanks for the Lasagna, Just Send Booze: What TV News and Grief Taught Me About Life. She loves tennis, her codependent dog Tate, and a karaoke mic.
