Kyla Calvert Mason is Wisconsin Public Radio’s executive editor and most senior news leader.
Before beginning her 10-year tenure at WPR, Calvert Mason gained experience covering politics and education in places such as PBS News Hour in Washington D.C. and KPBS in San Diego. She began her career at a daily newspaper in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
At WPR she has held roles of increasing responsibility, from assistant news director to executive editor, and now manages all WPR newsgathering from its statewide team of reporters and the “Wisconsin Today” daily talk show. She earned her master’s degree from Columbia University in 2009.
Throughout her career she has pursued roles in public media, and she understands the responsibility that comes with serving and informing the public in a purple state.
“We’re here to serve people, regardless of their ability to pay a subscription,” Calvert Mason said. “We approach our work as trying to make sense of everything going on, to make meaning.”
She said the most gratifying aspect of her work has been leading members of the news team to “develop in their time here, to help people grow skills and realize their potential,” adding that WPR’s staff “is really committed to serving the state.”
Calvert Mason also said she appreciates the imaginative experience radio and audio storytelling can provide. Drawing inspiration from a former mentor, she views radio as the “theater of the mind” and admires its ability to transport the listener and to humanize abstract news topics.
“Radio connects you to the people you hear,” Calvert Mason said.
Calvert Mason resides in Milwaukee with her husband and two young children. When not following the news, her kids’ love of baseball keeps her busy attending practices and games. They enjoy trips to Brewers’ games, the Milwaukee County Zoo and baking together as a family.
– Nate Imig, Senior Digital Editor
