CityBeat news reporter Madeline Fening earned several awards during the 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards and Hall of Fame Ceremony hosted by the Cincinnati Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) on Tuesday night.
Fening won three SPJ awards, including in the General Assignment News Story category for her article “Pro-Palestinian Protesters Slapped with Felony Charges for Wearing Masks Outside Xavier Commencement,” the Criminal/Social Justice Reporting category for “Missing in Plain Sight: The Inequity Behind Cincinnati’s ’North Fairmount Jane Doe‘” and the Election Issues Reporting category for Fening’s coverage of the 2024 election.
She was also a finalist in the Health/Medical/Science/Environmental Reporting category for “A Race Against Time: The Hidden Cruelty of Ohio’s 24-Hour Waiting Period Abortion Rule,” Best Podcast for Elegy: The Many Myths of JD Vance with Ashley Paul, and Journalist of the Year.
In 2024, Fening won an SPJ award for her story on Cincinnati’s Potter’s Field.