Samplonius has worked for more than half a century in the Dutch press. He began his career immediately after graduating from high school as a journalist writing for Zwolse Courant, the daily newspaper Trouw and Algemeen Dagblad. In the 1970s he switched to Hilversum. He started as a presenter at Radio North Sea, but soon switched to AVRO, NOS, and TROS.

Zwolle’s journalist started his career on the editorial board of Aiming Tomorrow, but was then asked to become part of the host team. Samplonius has also been a voice for programs such as NOS Langs de Lijn and Rado Tour de France for many years and is one of the first king watchers at Hilversum. He was also a co-founder of the current affairs program TweeVandaag, as editor-in-chief and presenter.

In the 1990s, he moved to more management positions. Samplonius was Radio 1 Channel Coordinator and Deputy Broadcasting Director at TROS. From 2007 to 2010, Zwollenaar was the director of RTV Drenthe. One of his goals was to give regional sport in particular a more important role on the canal.

In 2010 he retired and was knighted with the Orange-Nassau Medal. After his retirement, Samplonius sporadically participated in NTR radio programs. Samplonius is Chairman of the Broadcasting History Foundation’s Board of Directors in Recent Years. The cause of the journalist’s death is not known.