Renee Shaw named new KET CEO and executive director

Renee Shaw, one of the most well-known moderators and journalists at Kentucky Educational Television for nearly three decades at the public television network, will lead the public media organization as its new executive director and CEO. 

In a Wednesday press release, KET announced Shaw as its new executive director and CEO where she will lead all of KET’s services, including cultural and historical programming and resources for classroom education. The announcement comes just days after the network announced that its former longtime leader Shae Hopkins had died. 

“KET has been such an important part of my life, and it is an incredible honor to have the opportunity to lead an organization that means so much to Kentucky,” Shaw said in a provided statement. “Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of listening to Kentuckians and sharing their stories. Although we all are dealing with heavy hearts right now after the passing of Shae Hopkins, I look forward to building on the strong foundation she and others helped build and working alongside our talented staff and partners to ensure that KET continues to inform, educate and connect people across the Commonwealth for generations to come.”

During her previous time at KET, she served as moderator and host of “Kentucky Tonight” along with coverage of elections, forums and other issues. She helped expand programming, including “Kentucky Edition”, while serving as the network’s director of public affairs, according to a KET press release. 

She has also been recognized with a number of awards and accolades for her journalistic work, including three Ohio Valley Regional Emmy awards and induction into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

A search committee made a recommendation Wednesday to name Shaw as the network’s leader, according to the KET release.

Dan Griffith, the chair of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, in a provided statement said Shaw “brings to this role an extraordinary understanding of Kentucky, a deep commitment to public service and a genuine appreciation for the important role KET plays in the lives of people across the Commonwealth.

“I have no doubt Renee will proudly take the torch from Shae and continue building on her great work,” Griffith said.