The Prairie traveled to Dallas for the 100th annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) convention on April 10, 2009. There are 61 colleges and universities currently in TIPA, with 55 represented at this year’s convention.
The Prairie received awards for their work in nine distinctive categories—special edition, in-depth reporting, feature story, sports page design, sports feature photo, general column, ad design, editorial and editorial cartoon.
The convention consisted of breakout sessions that covered various topics. In these sessions, seasoned journalists gave students helpful advice that would aid them in their future careers. Session speakers included The Dallas Morning News staff Jean-Jacques Taylor, sports columnist, Tom Fox and Brad Loper, Pulitzer prize-winning photographers, and James Ragland, columnist. Also, Robert W. Mong, editor of The Dallas Morning News, was the guest speaker at the TIPA awards breakfast.