The Minnesota Daily Board of Directors announced Thursday that Tyler Church, the current campus desk editor, will be the organization’s Editor-in-Chief for the 2026-27 academic year. He will begin his position in May. 

Church, originally from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is currently a third-year Journalism student and first started at the Minnesota Daily as a campus administration reporter. In that role, he made headlines when University police detained him during the coverage of Morrill Hall protests in 2024. 

After nearly a year of reporting, Church became the Campus desk editor last summer, as the Campus Activities and Campus Administration desks merged. 

This step up has been a long time coming, Church said. He said he has been pursuing the Editor-in-Chief role since coming to Minnesota.   

“It’s been I’ve been working for the entire three years that I’ve been at the University of Minnesota,” Church said. “It’s a very exciting moment for me, and I think a very interesting moment for the Minnesota Daily as a whole.” 

Church said the work the reporters are currently doing at the Daily helps them build their portfolio for their future careers. As Editor-in-Chief, he aims to help reporters build their resumes while staying dedicated to informing the University community. 

“I want to make sure that the reporting that we’re doing translates to full-time careers, and it gives reporters meaningful experience in the field,” Church said. 

The Daily’s current Editor in-Chief, Alexis Letang, said Church is dedicated to his work and willing to share his experience with the newsroom once he takes the role. 

“Tyler brings a lot of passion to the job and his experience as a reporter that he is able to share when he is in charge and be able to connect with other reporters that way,” Letang said.

Seth Richardson, a board member at the Daily, said Church is capable of advancing the current newsroom in a really meaningful way. 

“I just want to see Tyler grow this newsroom and make this newsroom the best that it can be,” Richardson said. “I think he’s capable of doing really great things and being that transformative kind of Editor-in-Chief.” 

Richardson said the experience Church has had doing on-the-ground reporting, whether it be facing University police during protests or providing guidance during Operation Metro Surge, will translate well to his new role. Richardson believes Church could be a strong leader for others in the newsroom. 

“Whether it was being detained by police in Morrill Hall or really being a leader during the ICE coverage,” Richardson said. “He’s shown that he’s a bulldog of a reporter and a bulldog of an editor, and he’s going to be a bulldog of an Editor in-Chief.” 

In addition to serving the Daily, Church said he wants to emphasize serving the University community. He added he is not just a face for an organization, he is his own person, and he wants readers to see that.

Church said, alongside helping the newsroom, he wants to make sure the coverage the Daily provides to the University is as fair and equitable as possible. He said he is more than open to feedback and wants to ensure everyone can share their thoughts. 

“I want everyone to know that only I am my own person, but I want to keep that conversation open with everyone,” Church said. “I’m just not talking about reporters in the newsroom, I’m also talking about the people that the Minnesota Daily serves and giving people the opportunity to have their voices heard.”