Veteran Kentucky journalist Ronnie Ellis dies at 68
Ronnie Ellis, a veteran newspaper reporter who most recently served as state government and political correspondent for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., died early Monday morning at a hospital in his hometown of Glasgow. He was 68.
His death, brought on by a lengthy battle with lung problems, was confirmed by Hatcher and Saddler Funeral Home in Glasgow. It said a memorial service will be held at a later date.
Gov. Andy Beshear in a statement said, “Ronnie Ellis’s journalistic instincts were surpassed only by his journalistic integrity. The role he played for some of Kentucky’s more rural outlets was integral to the capitol press corps. We mourn the loss of Ronnie with his media family and his actual family as well.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Louisville, said in a release, ‘In a hall of fame career spanning more than 40 years, Ronnie Ellis earned a reputation as one of the hardest working reporters in Kentucky. He was always armed with the tough questions, and he helped set the standard for other journalists. Ronnie gave his readers a first-hand look into their government and helped shape countless conversations across the Commonwealth.”
McConnell said he has enjoyed throughout the years “talking with Ronnie about everything from politics to sports. Even when he disagreed with your position, you knew he’d treat everyone fairly. I’m going to miss his insightful perspective.”
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said, “Ronnie Ellis was a legend in Kentucky journalism. His coverage provided local newspapers throughout the commonwealth with unparalleled access to Kentucky government and politics.
“However, those who knew Ronnie will also remember his great sense of humor and incredible institutional knowledge.”
It was announced earlier this year that Ellis was one of 10 journalists to make up the 40th class of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.
Ellis retired in November 2018 from his full-time position as statehouse reporter in Frankfort’s Capitol but continued to write a regular column for CNHI Kentucky.
Ellis worked as a reporter for the Glasgow Daily Times and The Gleaner in Henderson before taking the Frankfort job.
The Richmond Register, one of CNHI’s newpapers, said Ellis was surprised when he got word of the Hall of Fame selection.
“I didn’t really expect it. I didn’t think I had made enough of a splash statewide where people would notice my work at The Gleaner and at The Times. I didn’t think I had been in Frankfort long enough for them to consider it,” he said.
Ellis began his journalism career in 1974 when he worked at The Edmonson News while still a student at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.
Ellis also was a staff member for WKU’s student newspaper, the College Heights Herald.
Ellis was out of journalism for about eight years to work for the United Way of the Ohio Valley in Owensboro. He returned to the Glasgow newspaper in 1997.
Ellis, who started the statehouse position in 2005, was a frequent guest on Kentucky Educational Television’s “Comment on Kentucky” public-affairs show. He called the Frankfort position “the best job I ever had.”
“There were days that I thought that I ought to be arrested for getting paid to do a job I liked so much. I was right in the center of things. I got to see it right up-front,” he told the Richmond newspaper.
“I got to talk to interesting people. Some of them were scoundrels. There weren’t too many saints, but most of them were up there trying to do the right thing. But they were all interesting, and most of them were really smart. It was just fun.”
Ellis’ friends in the Frankfort press corps knew him as a brilliant conversationalist, an avid University of Kentucky basketball and New York Yankees fan and a devotee of The Dillards, an American bluegrass band from Missouri, popularly known for their appearance as “The Darlings” on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Ellis is survived by a son, John Randolph “Jack” Ellis of Glasgow, and a daughter, Scottie Ellis, who is director of digital communications for Gov. Beshear.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
