Ronnie Agnew
After a 27-year newspaper career, Ronnie Agnew joined Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) in August 2011 as the agency’s executive director. Agnew is responsible for MPB’s strategic direction as adopted by the agency’s board of directors. As head of MPB, Agnew directs the three primary areas that form the agency’s mission: Emergency preparedness and response, economic impact media and educational resource development for all projects.
Agnew is responsible for developing programming and educational content that addresses health, workforce development and tourism. As executive director, he has oversight of all MPB radio and television programming, as well as the agency’s digital initiatives. Since joining Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Agnew has worked with top managers to launch new programs for both radio and television. He also has worked to give the agency more of a digital focus, using the latest in social media tools to attract new audiences. Under Agnew’s leadership, the agency’s education staff has placed greater emphasis on social issues affecting Mississippi, including the state’s high dropout rate and lack of an early-childhood learning program. A frequent speaker, Agnew has led a renewed effort to draw more public support for MPB’s programming.
Agnew, a native of Saltillo, Miss., had previously served as executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger for nine years, from August 2002-August 2011. He was the newspaper’s managing editor for 18 months prior to being promoted to the top newsroom position. Under his leadership, The Clarion-Ledger won numerous state and national awards, including the Mississippi Press Association’s general excellence award eight times during his tenure at the newspaper. It was among the Gannett Co. Inc.’s most decorated newspapers nationally for its coverage of civil rights issues.
Agnew, an award-winning columnist, is also active in national journalism circles. He has served as a judge for journalism’s top honor, the Pulitzer Prize, four times, and is current past diversity chairman for the board of directors of the American Society of News Editors. He is a former board member of the New York-based Associated Press Managing Editors’ organization. While at The Clarion-Ledger, the newspaper was a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and was lauded nationally for its staff diversity and coverage of civil rights issues.
Agnew was honored with the prestigious Silver Em award in 2008 for excellence in journalism from the University of Mississippi on the award’s 50th anniversary. While at The Clarion-Ledger, he received four President’s Rings, recognizing outstanding performance from the top 10 editors in Gannett Co. Inc., the newspaper’s parent company. He also was a three-time recipient of the Chairman’s Award, given to the Gannett Co.’s top employees.
He led The Clarion-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper, as it experienced major digital growth, becoming the largest news web site in the state of Mississippi. Agnew is also active in assisting journalism programs at several state universities. He is on the journalism advisory board of the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, Jackson State University, and Alcorn State University. And, he has assisted with the communications program at Belhaven University. During Agnew’s long journalism career, he has worked at newspapers in Mississippi, Ohio and Alabama. Agnew is a 1984 graduate of the University of Mississippi with bachelor’s degrees in radio/TV and English. He and his wife, Cynthia, have been married 25 years and have three children, Christopher, Victoria and Rachel. He is a graduate of Leadership Jackson, Gannett’s Leadership Academy and Senior Management Development program, and the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. He is a frequent lecturer in Mississippi and nationally on media issues. He has lectured at Columbia University in New York, the University of Nebraska, Grambling State University, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Alcorn State University and Jackson State University, among others.
