Speak Up

Follow one of the first women network news producers as she climbs the career ladder right through the headlines of American history. Mason recounts career highlights of working side-by-side with media giants such as Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, covering history-in-the-making as she smashed the glass ceiling of the network news world.

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Follow one of the first women network news producers as she climbs the career ladder right through the headlines of American history and inspires us all to speak up for our ourselves and fight for our own success.

From Cuba to Vietnam and to Tiananmen Square, Linda Mason stood side-by-side with CBS news anchors Walter Cronkite, Charles Kuralt, and Dan Rather to bring the world stories of history-in-the-making and smash the glass ceiling of the network news world. As one of the first women to serve as producer for a primetime network news broadcast, Linda Mason blazed a trail of perseverance as she climbed the network ladder. Her list of adventures included taking Dan Rather to Cuba to meet Fidel Castro, taking Rather and General Norman Schwarzkopf to Vietnam to assess the war-torn country 20 years after the end of the war, and witnessing first-hand the protests in China’s Tiananmen Square.

In writing Speak Up, Mason reflects on her career and the leadership lessons she learned along the way. The formula she shares with all young professionals is simple, but the lessons are timeless: work hard, don't complain, ask questions, and when the time is right, speak up about what is next. Mason followed this formula to great success and looks forward to following the groundbreaking careers of today’s professionals throughout media, politics, and in all leadership roles.