Renee Shaw is the Director of Public Affairs and Moderator at KET, currently serving as host of KET’s weeknight public affairs program Kentucky Edition, the signature public policy discussion series Kentucky Tonight, Election coverage and KET Forums. A 30-year veteran in broadcast journalism, garnering nearly four-dozen community recognitions and industry awards, Renee was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in April of 2025; inducted into the Western Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2023; earned a place in the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in 2023, one of the industry’s highest honors recognizing television professionals; and inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2017. She has twice been recognized as the 50 most notable women in Kentucky politics and government by The Kentucky Gazette.

Since 2001, Renee has been the producing force behind KET’s legislative coverage that has been recognized by the Kentucky Associated Press and the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Under her leadership, KET has expanded its portfolio of public affairs content to include a daily news and information program, Kentucky Supreme Court coverage, townhall-style forums, and multi-platform program initiatives around issues such as opioid addiction, youth mental health and aging.

In February of 2023, Renee graced the front cover of Kentucky Living magazine with a centerfold story on her 25 years of service at KET and even longer commitment to public media journalism.

In addition to honors from dozens of educational, civic, and community organizations, Renee has earned top honors from the Associated Press and has twice been recognized by Mental Health America for her years-long dedication to examining issues of mental health and opioid addiction.
In 2022, she was honored with Women Leading Kentucky’s Governor Martha Layne Collins Leadership Award recognizing her trailblazing path and inspiring dedication to elevating important issues across Kentucky.  

In 2018, she co-produced and moderated a 6-part series on youth mental health that was awarded first place in educational content by NETA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association.

She has been honored by the McConnell Scholars in receiving the 2023 Outstanding Leadership in Kentucky award; the Kentucky Association of School Administrators 2023 William T. Nallia award for her work in elevating education issues statewide; the AKA Beta Gamma Omega Chapter with a Coretta Scott King Spirit of Ivy Award; the AKA Legacy of Social Justice Award in 2024; the 2021 Berea College Service Award; and was named “Unapologetic Woman of the Year” in 2021 by the Community Action Council.

Renee earned the state media award from the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2019; named a Charles W. Anderson Laureate by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet in 2019 honoring her significant contributions in addressing socio-economic issues; and was recognized as a “Kentucky Trailblazer” by the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy and Administration during the Wendell H. Ford Lecture Series in 2019.

Renee was bestowed In 2015, she received the Green Dot Award for her coverage of domestic violence, sexual assault & human trafficking. In 2014, Renee was awarded the Anthony Lewis Media Award from the KY Department of Public Advocacy for her work on criminal justice reform. Two Kentucky governors, Republican Ernie Fletcher and Democrat Andy Beshear, have commissioned Renee as a Kentucky Colonel for noteworthy accomplishments and service to community, state, and nation.

A former adjunct media writing professor at Georgetown College, Renee traveled to Cambodia in 2003 to help train emerging journalists on reporting on critical health issues as part of an exchange program at Western Kentucky University. And, she has enterprised stories for national media outlets, the PBS NewsHour and Public News Service.

Shaw is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Kentucky and a longtime member of the Frankfort/Lexington Chapter of The Links Incorporated, an international, non-profit organization black women committed to volunteer service. She has served on the boards of the Kentucky Historical Society, Lexington Minority Business Expo, and the Board of Governors for the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is a current board member of CASA of Lexington that advocates for abused and neglected children.