KCUR is pleased to announce that Madeline Fox has been selected as the organization’s next News Director. In this role, Fox will drive daily reporting while continuing to transform KCUR into a digital-first, audience-focused local news operation.
“Madeline has put in the work to truly earn this newsroom’s trust. She has proven herself over and over,” says KCUR Director of Journalism Lisa Rodriguez. “She’s sharp, talented and has clear eyes toward the future of KCUR and public media. There's no better fit to lead this newsroom into our next chapter.”
Fox first joined KCUR as the social welfare reporter at the Kansas News Service. She covered the tumultuous period leading up to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by children in Kansas’ foster care system and the 2018 Kansas gubernatorial and congressional elections. She then worked as a general assignment reporter in Palm Beach County for WLRN, and as the statewide education reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio.
She returned to KCUR in 2022 as the news editor, guiding KCUR’s coverage of the Ralph Yarl shooting, the run-up to Roger Golubski’s trial, and three Chiefs Super Bowl runs.
She was named a 2024 Rising Star by Current Public Media.
Fox was just days into her first stint as interim news director when KCUR had to mobilize to cover a mass shooting at the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. Fox made sure everyone in the newsroom was safe, and that KCUR’s audience could access the most up-to-date information that afternoon and in the days that followed. She also co-organized an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning series about the shooting’s long-term effects on victims and family members, in collaboration with KFF Health News.
A lifelong women’s soccer fan, Fox also covers the Kansas City Current for KCUR.
Fox assumed interim news director duties again in March 2025, and has led the newsroom’s coverage through KCUR’s loss of federal funding and the station’s unexpected move from its longtime home at 4825 Troost Ave.
“KCUR had many curveballs in my more than three years here, but I could not have asked for a better team to help me meet those challenges and grow from them, both personally and as a news organization,” Fox said. “It’s made me confident we can emerge from these challenges not only intact, but stronger and better-positioned to serve our audience. I’m excited to dig into that work.”
