had a newsroom cat, Clarabelle, and in the 1930s, this was common knowledge in Montgomery. Well, the newspaper regularly told its readers about Clarabelle, that’s why. The Pulitzer Prize-winning editor (Hall) reported on the comings and goings of the city’s most famous feline (she even had an honorary seat on the newspaper’s editorial board). Below is an excerpt of just one of the many reports:
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As this is written she lies placidly on the seat of one of our high-priced chairs dozing and meditating her woes and triumphs, still too dirty and mean to pet, but a personality in her own right just the same.”
When Clarabelle died, the Associated Press wrote a national obituary on her passing. The country mourned the loss of Montgomery’s beloved, and incredibly feisty, cat. Even if OSHA and Gannett would allow us to have a newsroom cat today (Can we please, please, please?), it is unlikely you would know much about her. We just wouldn’t have the space for regular musings on a modern-day Clarabelle. It’s true — in today’s news world, newsprint is at a premium and getting all the news of the day into the paper can be a bit of squeeze. Enter “The Daily Siftings.”
We thought the name was perfect — so perfect we stole it. The Daily Siftings is the name of the first newspaper that Mr. Hall worked at as a young cub reporter, and we thought using the name would be a perfect way to pay tribute to the important values of traditional journalism while embracing the future. This is the forum that we will use to pass along the siftings of the day that we just couldn’t get into the actual newspaper.What can you expect to see? More elaboration on local news stories (with a focus on education, government and development), more of the nuances that tend to get lost and more documents and raw information to help you build your own understanding of the inner workings of the community. We also plan to have guest bloggers (contact Annie and Jill if you have specific topic to pitch) and video snippets of interviews and what-the-heck-was-that-about moments that we catch along the way. Most importantly, we hope you will join in when the spirit of Clarabelle moves you. We welcome all viewpoints, and if you don’t want to say it publicly, quietly e-mail us. Annie can be reached at [email protected] and Jill at [email protected].
