In this week’s episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with Mississippi Public Broadcasting Executive Director Ronnie Agnew. 

Agnew, a native of Saltillo and graduate of Ole Miss, joined Mississippi Public Broadcasting in August 2011 as the agency’s executive director after a career in the newspaper industry spanning nearly three decades. At MPB, a state licensee, Agnew has oversight of radio and television programming and the agency’s legislative, education and digital initiatives.

During his time at MPB, Agnew has successfully overseen the launch of new shows that further the agency’s mission of delivering strong content across all platforms, focusing on issues affecting Mississippi, with an emphasis on early-childhood education, job skills training, healthcare and Mississippi politics. Before joining MPB, Agnew served as executive editor of the Clarion-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper. Under his leadership, the Clarion-Ledger won dozens of awards for investigative reporting and was among the Gannett Co., Inc.’s most decorated newspapers nationally for coverage of civil rights issues. During his long newspaper career, Agnew worked in the Delta, in Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, in Dothan, Ala., and Cincinnati, Ohio. He has served on numerous boards and judged the Pulitzer Prize four times. 

Ramsey and Agnew talk about mentorship, resilience and surviving in a changing world. 


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Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today’s Editor-At-Large. He’s also host of a weekly statewide radio program and a television program on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.