Renee Shaw was honored by Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting on Thursday, June 15.

In a proclamation read to the council, Mayor Gorton declared June 15, 2023, ‘Renee Shaw Day’ in Lexington.

“Renee has been a dedicated, valued journalist in our community and state for many years, and her work is grounded in hard work, truth and objectivity,” Gorton said. “Renee has been breaking glass ceilings her entire career. A true inspiration, especially for young women who want to be journalists, Renee, you are an ambassador for our community.”

Shaw, KET’s director of public affairs who also hosts several KET public affairs programs such as Kentucky Tonight, Kentucky Edition and Connections, said she was touched by the award, adding that it likewise was a testament to the power of public media.

“There is nothing better [than public media],” Shaw said. “I grew up on public broadcasting, and Sesame Street and Mister Rogers were some of my closest companions. To be a part of a network system that embraces that and contributes to the overall well-being of people knowing and understanding their community and each other, that is a high honor for me.”

Since joining KET in 1997, Shaw has earned numerous awards, including two regional Emmy awards from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which also announced this year that Shaw would be inducted into the Silver Circle, one of the academy’s highest honors that recognizes those who’ve made lasting contributions to the television industry.

Shaw likewise has been recognized by the Kentucky Associated Press for her coverage of the state legislature; inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame; received the state media award from the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; named a Charles W. Anderson Laureate by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet; and earned the Anthony Lewis Media Award from the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy for her work on criminal justice reform.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, where learning comes to life for more than two million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization at KET.org, on Twitter @KET and at facebook.com/KET.