E&P: Hubbard students report from the front lines, proving campus journalism’s real-world impact
Editor & Publisher goes deep on the work being done at the MJC, the Hubbard School and the Minnesota Daily to prepare students covering difficult and dangerous events.
Hubbard student and Minnesota Daily multimedia editor Hannah Reynolds (front) and Minnesota Daily executive director Charlie Weaver participate in hostile environment and first aid training for journalists, hosted by the Minnesota Journalism Center during Operation Metro Surge in early 2026. Regina McCombs for the Minnesota Journalism Center
Editor & Publisher goes deep on the ways the Minnesota Journalism Center, the Hubbard School and The Minnesota Daily have partnered to prepare students to safely navigate risk as they cover the impacts of Operation Metro Surge on campus and the surrounding community.
From the article:
When Alexis Letang’s phone buzzed early on a January Saturday, the text was blunt: Federal agents just shot someone in south Minneapolis. That someone was Alex Pretti, a nurse protesting ICE actions in the city.
Letang, editor-in-chief of The Minnesota Daily, gave herself five minutes to think before working the phones. There were two priorities: get an accurate first report out and keep field teams safe. Staff monitored the mayor’s press conference and a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) briefing while reporters heading out were given a deployment plan, safety gear, a field buddy and instructions to check in every 15 minutes.
By the end of a 12-to-14-hour day, The Daily had deployed at least six staffers across the city — covering press conferences, documenting events on the ground and following vigils for Pretti. It was a full-scale news operation, coordinated and executed by college students.
Letang credits the preparation behind that response to the training and faculty support at the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Regina McCombs, a senior lecturer and Daily board member, was on call throughout the unfolding events for Letang and any students who needed guidance. She had also helped several students attend hostile environment safety training ahead of a massive downtown Minneapolis rally the day before. “They just did 36 hours of just really great journalism work,” McCombs said.
Moments like that, McCombs said, reflect Hubbard’s approach, giving students practical experience early to prepare them for real news situations. The journalism program offers an undergraduate degree and is one of three tracks in UMN’s College of Liberal Arts, alongside strategic communication and media studies. With about 150 students and 15 faculty, Hubbard emphasizes getting students into the field quickly, offering digital, multimedia, investigative and magazine reporting classes.
Read the full profile on editorandpublisher.com.