At the end of the month, two-time WKU graduate Renee Shaw will be retiring from her position as Director of Public Affairs and Moderator for Kentucky Educational Television. 

Since 1997, Shaw has played a role in expanding KET’s public affairs coverage through a current-events series, town hall-style forums, and various multiplatform initiatives.

Raised in Portland, Tennessee, Shaw earned a bachelor of arts in broadcasting in 1994 and a master of arts in communication in 1996 from WKU. While a student, Shaw volunteered and worked for WKU’s television station and was surrounded and involved by communities in the communication and broadcasting departments. 

Over her 29 years with KET, Shaw hosted Kentucky Edition and Kentucky Tonight, KET’s public policy discussion series, and has moderated KET Forums and election coverage.

“Renee is one of the most trusted and respected voices in Kentucky journalism, known for her thoughtful reporting, in‑depth interviews, and commitment to civil, informed public discourse,” said KET Executive Director Shae Hopkins in a KET press release.

Shaw helped shepherd KET’s multi-dimensional content on the opioid epidemic, earning KET a national media award from Mental Health America in 2018. 

She also won three Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards for her work and became a member of the Silver Circle Society of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for her service in the television industry in 2023. 

Shaw was inducted into the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni in November of 2023, as well as the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2025. 

“For nearly three decades, KET has been my professional home and offered me such rich opportunities,” said Shaw in the press release. “As I look back on this journey, my heart is full of gratitude for the viewers who trusted me, the colleagues who inspired me, and the Commonwealth that allowed me to tell its stories.”