Susan Deans
Sue Deans leaves male
leadership style behind
By Tara McLain
Although journalism is typically a female-friendly business, the elevator to upper management tends to stop short when there are women on board. Those who break through the glass ceiling do so with skill and tenacity.
"At the beginning of my career I would never have thought it possible that I could be the editor of a newspaper. I accomplished that goal nine years ago," said Susan Deans ('75 MA), former editor and vice president of The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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Susan Deans
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In April, she accepted a position as assistant managing editor/Sunday at the Denver Rocky Mountain News.
"Many newsrooms, mine included, have a high proportion, sometimes a majority, of women journalists," Deans said. "However, the top editors' ranks are still largely male. Only about 15 to 20 percent of the daily newspaper editors in the United States are women. But women who are willing to work hard and develop their leadership capabilities can go a long way in this business."
Deans, 51, not only crashed through the glass ceiling, she soared above it. She started as a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera, and climbed steadily higher to the editorship of The Sun News and her current position at the Denver Rocky Mountain News.
(Deans reported to work at the News on Tuesday, April 20, the day of the Columbine High School shootings.)
Realizing early on that she had to depart from the traditional male role of leadership to move ahead, Deans created her own niche in the upper ranks of newspaper management.
"There weren't very many female role models in the business," she said. "So, many of us who came in at that time took our cues on how to supervise people from our male bosses. For me, that was not my natural leadership style, and it took a long time before I felt secure enough as a leader to act on my own instincts."
Originally intent upon teaching, Deans received her bachelor's degree in English from Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. After college, she found herself in a public relations job and became more interested in journalism. Wanting more experience, Deans enrolled in the CU School of Journalism and Mass Communication master's program.
"I had a great experience there," she said. "The students and the faculty were terrific, and we had a lot of camaraderie. I learned a lot and met people I still keep in touch with all these years later."
After getting a master's degree in May 1975, Deans started at the Camera covering the CU beat.
"It was a small paper but an excellent one," Deans said. "I started as a reporter and worked my way up into several editing jobs, including city editor and assistant managing editor. Boulder was a great town for news, and with the help of some great people there I was able to learn a lot about the newspaper business."
While she enjoyed reporting, Deans said she admits she gravitates toward leadership positions.
"I like to work with reporters and stories and think about news coverage and put all the pieces together," she said.
When Knight Ridder, which then owned the Camera, bought The Sun News, Deans accepted an offer to move to Myrtle Beach. Though the Southern resort community is quite different from Boulder, Deans eschewed conservative local traditions and took an active role in reshaping the paper.
"I was able to help remake the newspaper into a more sophisticated publication that has nearly doubled in circulation since I've been there," she said. "Our paper is now regarded as one of the best small newspapers in the country."
Deans has a long resume of leadership positions in many community and journalism organizations. She is past president of the Myrtle Beach Rotary Club, the South Carolina AP News Council and the Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters.
She was recently elected to the board of directors of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
"Sometimes it's hard to be taken seriously by the male-dominated establishment, but I think I've managed to achieve that," she said. "The most important sign of that was being chosen as the first female member of the Myrtle Beach Rotary Club and later being elected its first female president."
Deans said she can't imagine not working in journalism.
"It's the only job I know of where you put out a completely new product every day. And I like the fact that you never predict what your day is going to be like--it's always a surprise."