Longtime Daily Iowan publisher to retire

By Vanessa Miller, The Gazette

IOWA CITY - William Casey, the longtime publisher of the Daily Iowan, will retire after the 2016-17 academic year, a year and a half short of his current contract.

Casey, who has been at the student-run publication at the University of Iowa since 1972, told The Gazette several factors played into his decision to retire, including that 45 years is a 'long time to be any place.”

'Part of me says, I don't know if I can do it for the next 10 or five or even two and a half years,” he said.

Casey, 65, said his sister's recent death also played a role. 'Ever since my sister passed away, I've been thinking about moving on and doing something else,” he said.

Casey started with the DI as a truck driver before moving up to circulation manager, according to the student-run publication. During his time as publisher, which began in 1976, the newspaper earned honors as one of the best in the nation, winning six Pacemaker awards.

Casey told The Gazette his proudest moments at the DI include beginning a scholarship program in 1987 for four high school seniors a year, launching Daily Iowan TV a decade ago and simply turning out good journalists.

'It's mostly the great kids that came out of this place,” Casey said. 'Lots come in kind of squirrely and leave pretty sophisticated. I make kids grow up, and help them grow up, and be honest with them.”

In 2013, Casey was voted into the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Hall of Fame.

'The hardest part will be leaving and not being around young people,” he said.