On our final episode of 2025 we're joined by Sam Donndelinger. Sam is an investigative journalist and lead designer for Uncloseted Media.
Uncloseted Media is a non-profit newsroom started by NYU professor Spencer MacNaughton to do investigative reporting on LGBTQ issues. It has 4 full-time employees and well-followed Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok accounts. Sam has won multiple awards for her reporting. She's a recent graduate of NYU.
Sam talked about the kinds of stories she covers (examples include – lack of access to HIV prevention medication, eating disorders in transgender men, and how Google search often refers parents of gay people to conversion therapy) and the importance of being an empathetic and present reporter. She explained the design role she has. And she shared why a job like this is the best fit for her.
Below is a lightly edited excerpt from our conversation.
Where are you from and what got you interested in being a journalist?
I'm from Carroll County, Maryland, which is central Maryland surrounded by farmlands and that actually is kind of why I wanted to be a journalist.
I grew up homeschooled and pretty isolated, and when I turned 18, I took a gap year and I traveled around. I went to Europe, I did Central America and Australia. I was just blown away by how many stories were out in the world. And I knew I wanted to do something where I can talk to people, meet people, expand my worldview, and contribute something to the conversation.
So journalism felt the best way to do that for me.
And from there to NYU, is there anything in your family or heritage that foreshadows your interest in telling stories?
No. I come from a long line of engineers and I love math and science, but I just felt I wanted something more people-centric. So I did a little bit of data journalism, a little bit of environmental journalism, and then I pivoted very quickly to a double major in gender studies and journalism, and that was the perfect combination of people, social-cultural analysis, and then storytelling.
I presume that prompted the interest, plus your personal experiences, in LGBTQ coverage.
Yeah, so I am a bisexual woman and I've always been interested in telling stories that just aren't being told in mainstream media. And I took an amazing summer class at NYU called LGBTQ Journalism.
I didn't really think it would be that hard or that time consuming, but I loved all the assignments and all the work in the course and I was like, this is exactly the kind of journalism I want to do. And so I really dedicated. all of my energy to that course and wrote some pretty cool.
And then I networked with the teacher who is now my boss. He started the publication, Uncloseted Media, about a year after that. And it lined up with my graduation date from NYU. So he brought me on as the first intern, and then we just started writing stories, figuring out what the launch of the publication would be like, and then he hired me full-time once we secured enough funding.
Uncloseted Media goes with the slogan of 'Investigating hate, amplifying everyday heroes.' What more would you say about what it is?
My boss, he comes from a background at 60 Minutes and The Wall Street Journal and he did a lot of reporting on extremism …and he realized whenever he would pitch LGBTQ-oriented stories or looking at the hate that's toward the LGBTQ community, there just wasn't as much resource available for that, and you couldn't get the stories placed.
So Uncloseted Media is really to fill that gap, to do longform in-depth, rigorous investigations into people, money and power that are harming the community, going against the community, and then at the same time, uplifting voices within the community.
How do you emotionally separate from the stories that you're writing?
Maybe this isn't the best answer as a journalist, but honestly, I kind of lean into it. If I'm doing an interview and I start to feel emotional, then I'm like, okay, this is what we need to be talking about. Let me ask a follow-up question about this, because if I'm feeling emotional, they'll, they're probably also feeling emotional. I think I am pretty intuitive and pretty empathetic, and I think that's part of why I wanted to do journalism.
What about after the fact when you've interviewed them and you're home and you're doing whatever you're doing. Are you able to separate from if someone told you a really tough story?
Sam gave a long answer here. This is a snippet
… Being there and listening and knowing that I'm gonna share their story and it might help other people, that goes a long way. I've had people thank me at the end of interviews. I'm like 'I'm sorry, that was terrible to talk about' and they're like 'Actually it felt good to have someone listen to what I'm saying.'
That's why we do what we do.
For the journalism aspirant who says 'I wanna do what she does, but I'm a little uncertain about where the industry is going,' what is the most important for thing for them to know about entering the profession?
I think a lot of people are good at journalism, good writers, good researchers, and good at talking to people. You have to be really pleasant to work with, and very organized …
A lot of people can do the job. What I found is that being really organized, on top of my deadlines, communicative, networking, talking to other journalists, I think that goes a long way.
Because then people will want to work with you. Story ideas will come and go and you'll always have another idea, but I think being able to execute the idea and work well with people, that's what's gonna get you bylines and get your foot in the door.
How do you view your place within the institution of journalism?
I think I'm getting more and more skilled at being a carrier of people's stories, and I think I'm getting better at telling people's stories more accurately and more nuanced. That's my goal.
I have some friends who graduated with me and they're at The New York Times now, or they're at bigger publications and they love it and I'm super happy for them, but I don't really think that's what I want to do.
I'm working for a small publication where I can really be proud of my work and go really deep into the stories and have a lot of support from my editor and my coworkers. The better I can get at relaying someone's story and being more accurate and more empathetic about it, I think that is where I wanna be.
In 2025 we had a new episode each week and featured more than 60 guests. I don’t know that we were the most diverse journalist interviews podcast out there, but we certainly tried to be.
We look forward to bringing you more journalist interviews in 2026 but we can use your help. Tell a friend, a relative, a colleague about us and let them know that our episodes are worth their time.
A reminder to professors and teachers
You can find episode guides that you can use if you wish to integrate the podcast within your classroom. There are more than 50 available. Each one has suggested questions for discussion and activities a class can do.
I’m also happy to help you find an episode that would be appropriate for what you’re teaching. Reach out to me at [email protected].
Additionally, I’ve curated some of the 2025 episodes into groups. If you’re teaching a class or unit in any of these subjects:
- Investigative Journalism
- Feature Writing
- Covering government policy
- Social justice, immigration, and identity
- Local News
Check out the sets of episode guides that would be useful to you. I don’t have a good term for them, so I’m borrowing from Bluesky and calling them “Starter Packs” - sets of 5-8 episodes in each category that may be useful in your classroom.