Sue O'Brien

Susan O’Brien
Journalist
1939 - 2003
INDUCTED 2010

Susan O‘Brien’s professional life had four chapters that included careers in broadcasting, politics, academia, and daily newspapers.

As Denver’s first female television news director, Sue was a leader in Colorado’s broadcast news reporting in the 1970s. O’Brien served as professor, then dean of the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She left her tenured university position to become the first woman editor of the Denver Post’s “Opinion Pages” from 1995 to 2003. She was known for salty language, a raspy voice, and working late hours to produce quality and fair journalism. When she died in 2003, Post chairman and publisher Dean Singleton called her the "conscience of Colorado."

”Journalism often reports on A then reports on Z and neglects all the letters in between. Yet, usually, the true story lies somewhere between L and O.” — Sue O’Brien