Although recent journalism education literature has promoted constant innovation, creative curriculum design, and the adaptation of teaching methodologies to the requirements of a fiercely competitive media marketplace, the permanent face-off between the academy and the profession has often led to theoretical models distanced from real newsroom dynamics prompting the need for transversal projects that integrate both valid theoretical axioms and core competences. The Catalan News Agency (CNA) experiment, which obliges students to provide professional-level English-language content for an official news agency, addresses this dichotomy and goes beyond classic simulation models as trainees must comply with academic goals and adjust to agency dynamics.