Christy McDonald Biography

Christy McDonald is a prominent American Emmy Award-winning TV anchor and journalist who has covered news in Detroit and Michigan for over 25 years. Recently, she ended a 10-year run with Detroit’s PBS, WTVS as the Managing Editor of One Detroit, a weekly political/news analysis show.

She is a big listener, loves telling stories, and loves to listen more. Christy says that the more we listen, the more we understand each other. And the more we understand each other’s perspective, the more empathy we have. She loves listening to podcasts about resilience and vulnerability.

Christy McDonald Age

Her secretive nature has shown up in her personal life. She has kept her birthdate and age a secret. It is hence not known when she celebrates her birthday.

Christy McDonald Height

She stands at an approximate height of 5ft 6 inches (1.68m).

Christy McDonald Family

She has kept her personal life off the limelight. And has not shared any information regarding her parents or siblings if she has any. But she was born and raised in Troy, Michigan to her devoted parents.

Christy McDonald Husband

She was married to the love of her life Jamie Samuelsen. However, she lost her husband in August 2020 to colon cancer. For this reason, she has been vocal to create public awareness about the disease. Her husband was a fan favorite in the Detroit Sports talk radio industry. In 2022, The Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation honored Christy with the Barry Bremen Memorial Inspiration Award in recognition of her campaigns for advocacy. As of June 2023, Christy is not known to be in any relationship. Moreover, she and her husband were blessed with three kids, two daughters named Caroline Samuelsen and Catherine Samuelsen. And a son named Josh Samuelsen.

Christy McDonald’s Net Worth

She has an estimated net worth of about $1.2 million. She has amassed such an awesome fortune making it mainly from her successful career as an anchor and journalist.

Christy McDonald Salary

Her journalism career and being an anchor with a truckload of experience are proof that her work generates a decent income. She thus has an average annual salary of $87,650.

Christy McDonald Education

She received her education at Troy High School where she graduated. After graduating from high school, she attended Michigan State University James Madison College where she graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Philosophy.

Christy McDonald Career

Also, she is the Founder of Sammac Communications, Inc., having been there since January 2022. Her roles there include custom media, moderation, and speaking. As a sought-after moderator and speaker, she has led lively discussions at the Detroit Economic Club, Detroit Policy Conference, Mackinac Policy Conference, International Women’s Day events, and Business Leaders for Michigan’s CEO Summit among others. She started her role there on October 10, 2022. Her journalism career has accumulated an experience of more than 25 years in Detroit. She started her career as a production assistant at FOX2 and then as a news writer and producer at WXYZ.

For two years, she worked in Flint, Michigan at WJRT as an on-air reporter from September 1998 to September 2000. After that, she came back to Detroit for WXYZ for ten years as a reporter/anchor from September 2000 to December 2010. From March 2011 to January 2022, she was an anchor/managing editor of One Detroit for Detroit Public Television. In 2014 and 2018, she co-moderated Gubernatorial debates. And has made an appearance on the WDET radio show Remarkable Women and WJR’s Anything is Possible. She has won numerous journalism awards from top organizations such as The Associated Press, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Christy McDonald WDIV-TV

She is a special correspondent and fill-in anchor at WDIV-TV Local 4 in Detroit. For WDIV, she is the founder of the weekly “MiWeek”, a politics and news program which was branded “One Detroit” in 2017. As a response to the pandemic, in 2020, she helped create and anchor “One Detroit: Arts & Culture”, a second weekly program devoted to the arts.

Christy works at WDIV-TV alongside other well-reputed anchors and reporters including;

1. Will Jones
2. Pamela Osborne
3. Kim Adams
4. Ron Hilliard
5. Bryan Schuerman
6. Darnell Blackburn
7. Kim DeGiulio
8. Mara MacDonald
9. Hank Winchester
10. Rod Meloni