Meet the Member: Adrienne Samuels-Gibbs on Using Her Journalism and Entertainment Industry Experience to Cover Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and More

In December 2024, Adrienne Samuels-Gibbs published a Fortune cover story on Sean “Diddy” Combs in advance of a high-profile trial last spring during which the music mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution. Samuels-Gibbs combined her experience as an investigative journalist with her entertainment industry connections to interview more than 100 behind-the-scenes sources and tell the story behind the story. 

Samuels-Gibbs has chronicled the figures and forces shaping American entertainment and culture for decades. The Chicago-based freelance journalist, content writer, and former magazine editor has an impressive portfolio of cover stories featuring some of the industry’s most influential names, including Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, and the Obamas.

Her career trajectory reflects deep roots in traditional journalism as well as an evolving digital landscape. After beginning as a newspaper reporter, Samuels-Gibbs returned to Chicago to lead Ebony magazine as editor-in-chief before moving into digital media leadership roles.

The entertainment beat has remained central throughout her career, but Samuels-Gibbs has proven equally adept across multiple domains, developing expertise in everything from astrology to race relations. It’s this combination—deep entertainment industry knowledge alongside wide-ranging editorial vision—that defines her distinctive approach to storytelling.

In a recent email interview, Samuels-Gibbs talked about the Diddy story, her writing aspirations, and why she recently rejoined ASJA. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

How did the Fortune story come about? 

I have a relationship with an editor there because she was my colleague and senior manager when we both worked at Medium. I didn’t pitch this. She reached out to me because she knew that I had done a cover story on Puffy back when I was the senior editor of Ebony. 

I’d been to his house, hung out from morning to the next morning with the mogul, been to the studio with him, been to the photo shoot, movies, dinner, etc. That whirlwind visit is reflected in the story that I wrote. Lots of people have been reading that story and asking me what it was like to spend that much time with Puff. 

My editor at Fortune was one who had already heard the stories because we had already talked about it years ago. I was a natural fit for an idea that she had. I know a lot of the players because I had covered music and film for more than a decade. That said, we worked on the idea and re-wrote the pitch a bit based upon what I was able to scrounge up in my interviews and my backgrounding. The story wound up being about how he went undetected for so long and it was an attempt at showing the reader why no one would blink twice at, say, being invited home with Diddy to be in his studio because he was a star maker. That’s just how things were done back then. They didn’t want another story about court cases; they wanted an insider’s view of how it all happened and why everyone was afraid to speak up.

How has that story impacted your work?

It’s certainly found me more work! It also earned me the trust of several people who went on to file lawsuits against Diddy, and we keep in touch. As you know, sources are key. So I keep in touch with them. It’s also just a really nice byline to have. I’d never written for Fortune before, so being in a business magazine with an entertainment piece is something that other editors seem to like when I pitch other places.

What’s your advice for writers who would like to pitch similar stories?

Stay in touch with all your editors and talk to them even when you don’t have a pitch. I usually catch up with folks and we reconnect because we have kids or read the same Tolkien books or said something funny about an outfit at the Golden Globes red carpet or somesuch. 

Also, a lot of people who have never covered celebrities want to jump out there and cover Tom Hanks for their first story. People, Entertainment Weekly, and the local newspaper aren’t likely to hand you that assignment. Covering celebrities is about relationships, so you have to take some time to build them. Cover industry events, get to know publicists and move beyond publicists to get to know the artists themselves. Basic sourcing. I started out as a newspaper reporter and I was a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) and other such journalism organizations. I won an award for investigative work I did while a reporter at The Boston Globe. I have a unique set of skills honed by covering courts and cops and murders and taxes and government. Then? I added celebrities. Basic shoe leather reporting never goes away—even when it’s Diddy.

Are there any specific stories or types of stories you would like to explore more in the future?

I’d like to do an oral history of a moment in time or a culturally significant play or film. And I’d like to do that for Vogue. 😉 But real talk: I’d like to write more cover stories featuring OGs like George Lucas. I wrote a cover story on him once, years ago, and I loved doing it. It’s an amazing clip and was a great interview. 

You recently rejoined ASJA. What motivated you to come back?

I never quite stopped freelancing even as I changed jobs. And I realized this year that I need community because I work remotely. I’m also back to full-time freelancing. I didn’t fully take advantage of my membership the last time I was in ASJA, and I wanted to correct that going forward. There are SO MANY organizations out there and I wanted to return to the source.

What is the most valuable ASJA member benefit for you?

Client Connections, legal support, and community. That’s three. Sorry.

What projects, speaking engagements, or other events do you have coming up?

I recently finished work as the primary researcher for the Illinois media landscape project which will be published by The Pivot Fund. I hired a few freelancers, interviewed a couple hundred people and talked with a number of non-traditional newsrooms to better understand what’s going on in Illinois—and Midwest—media. That report is coming out soon so be on the lookout for it! It’s my first official, purely research and analysis project. I’m incredibly proud of the insights I gleaned from my reporting.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

I’ve edited plenty of books, but something new happened when a longtime publisher friend asked me to submit a book proposal. He’s been encouraging me to share these experiences outside of my Substack and speaking engagements. As such, I look forward to learning all the things from ASJA this year. You can also find me as @adriennewrites on all socials. Right now Instagram and Threads are where I’m most active.

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Cat DiStasio is a freelance content marketing writer and journalist based in Oregon. Her content work focuses on working with growing brands on human resources technology, trends, and research, as well as B2B technology topics such as AI and energy and green tech. She is a former HR practitioner and technical recruiter who has tracked workplace tech trends for more than 20 years. Connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her website.