Sue Green, the assistant news director at the Walter Cronkite School, will take a leave for the remainder of the semester in order to focus on her health.
Green said she based her decision on advice from her doctor and a desire to improve her health. Green said she plans to return and will likely be back at the Cronkite School in January 2015 at the latest. She declined to elaborate on her medical condition.
“I think the important message for everyone is I’m not leaving forever and I want to continue to see (Cronkite NewsWatch) grow,” Green said. “There are some really good people here that will be filling my shoes while I’m gone.”
Joe Hengemuehler, who has taught journalism ethics and diversity as an adjunct professor, will be assisting with Cronkite NewsWatch during Green’s absence.
Hengemuehler said he is looking forward to helping students grow during their time at NewsWatch.
“Anytime you set foot into a newsroom, it’s great feeling,” Hengemuehler said. “Especially when you’re working with journalists who are on the front end of their careers and you can help groom them and help them tell stories that impact the community.”
Hengemuehler is a veteran of the broadcast industry and said he plans on assisting students by drawing from his own experiences.
Green has been at the Cronkite School for eight years and was instrumental in developing Cronkite NewsWatch from a weekly pre-taped newscast to a live newscast that airs four days a week.
NewsWatch students expressed their gratitude toward Green and the invaluable guidance she has provided them.
Journalism senior Ryan Foote, who has known Green for nearly a year as a reporter for NewsWatch, said Green encouraged her students to be innovative in their story ideas and find their own solutions to issues.
“She’s constantly there for you, but what’s great about her is she’s not a crutch,” Foote said. “When she knows you can figure something out on your own, she doesn’t give you all the answers. She’ll point you in the right direction and she will always push us.”
Foote added that the time he has spent under Green’s supervision has been beneficial to not only him, but all of the students in NewsWatch.
“You can’t replace her or put a value on what she’s taught all of us.”
Green, a graduate of the Cronkite School, said the school has been very supportive of her temporary leave and the students will still have the necessary guidance during her absence.
“I would not leave if I did not feel like the students were in good hands,” Green said.
Green emphasized that the leave is only temporary and said she is looking forward to returning to the Cronkite School as soon as she is able to.
“It’s like teachers that take sabbaticals to do other things,” Green said. “It’s just me taking a sabbatical, in essence, to get healthy.”
Contact the reporter at Pallavi.Kunthara@asu.edu
