The Prairie Dog Newspaper
About Us
The student run newspaper is well over 50 years old, and as much a part of Grand Prairie High School as the Gopher. The publication is part of the Journalism, Photojournalism, and Newspaper elective classes. Students in the Journalism and Photojournalism classes explore various mass communications topics including, news writing, the history of journalism, media law, photography, layout, and media careers. Students in the Newspaper class function as a real staff, serving as the editors of the publication.
The paper had a brief hiatus during the 2007-2008 school year; however it was the 2008-2009 staff who re-established its place in Gopher history. This year's staff will be producing the school's first ever online newspaper.
The Process
The editors meet at a bi-weekly budget meeting to discuss possible story ideas for the upcoming issue. Editors then assign the stories to staff writers, who must meet set deadlines in order for the publication to go to press on time. The stories are then given to section editors who proofread the copy for errors. The stories are later given to the editor-in-chief who completes the final proof of each copy. The stories, pictures, captions and headlines are given to the layout editor, who along with the editor-in-chief, complete the process for publication.
The Prairie Dog Staff
Rebecca Wilson: Editor-in-Chief
Ashley Johnson: Managing Editor
Anthony Rodriguez: News Editor
Manuel Rodriguez: Editorial Page Editor
Peaceful Thomas: Entertainment Editor
Joseph Hurst: Sports Editor
Leslie Roper: Layout Editor
Amy Gomez: Photography Editor
Felipe Hernandez: Columnist
Advisor: Jennifer Conner