Kentucky Educational Television (KET) Public Affairs Director Renee Shaw will speak on the importance of free speech and journalistic integrity at the upcoming McGaughey Lecture on Press Freedom and Responsibility.
Kevin Qualls, chair of Murray State’s department of journalism and mass communication said he expects the lecture to be a great learning resource for students due to Shaw’s extensive experience.
“We are very pleased that during constitution week, award-winning public affairs journalist Renee Shaw will speak about the role of the press as provided in the First Amendment,” Qualls said. “KET’s Renee Shaw has proven adept at covering important public affair issues in an era when truth, accuracy and fairness are too often in question.”
An inductee of the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame, Shaw is a political reporter with over 30 years of experience who helped KET grow its coverage to include content from the Kentucky Supreme Court and multi-platform program initiatives on issues including opioid addiction and youth mental health. Her leadership in producing KET’s legislative coverage has been recognized by the Kentucky Associated Press and the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
Zoe Lewis, a senior Journalism major, said she plans to attend the upcoming lecture.
“I am excited to hear what Renee Shaw has to say about political news coverage, especially with the presidential election coming up,” Lewis said. “She has helped cover political forums and legislative coverage, which is what I would like to do when I graduate. I would like the key takeaways to be how she is able to deliver a neutral bias in this very divided political climate.”
The lecture’s topic is an important one for rising political journalists like Lewis as they learn to navigate the pitfalls of political divide and news censorship while prioritizing journalism’s core value of uncovering and sharing the truth.
“As a future journalist, press freedom is one of the most important aspects of journalism,” Lewis said. “Press freedom gives reporters the ability to write about the hard facts and the truth without others in power taking away from that. So I am very excited for this lecture. A lot of my professors have been hyping it up and I cannot wait to hear and learn from Renee Shaw.”
The McGaughey lecture was created by the McGaughey Fund for Excellence in journalism and mass communication, which was established in 2020 to honor the legacy of the late Robert H. “Doc” McGaughey, former chairman of the journalism and mass communications department and inductee of the Kentucky Press Hall of Fame.
“As Doc McGaughey always taught, press freedom comes with press responsibility,” Qualls said. “And that responsibility includes providing truthful, accurate, and fair news reporting necessary for an informed electorate. We’re fortunate to have Renee Shaw as our McGaughey lecturer, especially during this election year.”
The McGaughey Lecture on Press Freedom and Responsibility will be held on Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Lovett Auditorium. The lecture is free to students and the public.