Profiles

Bill Casey, Daily Iowan

	Bill Casey, publisher of the Daily Iowan. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

During this recent harsh winter season, University of Iowa students could expect to find two things waiting outside their door: a dusting (or dumping) of snow, and the Daily Iowan.

University of Iowa students produce the newspaper that is delivered to all students and placed around campus for faculty and staff to read. Those students work under the mentoring of Bill Casey, who for nearly 32 years has served as publisher at the Daily Iowan.

The Daily Iowan has made headlines during Casey’s tenure, winning numerous awards from the Iowa Newspaper Association and receiving the prestigious Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press in 2006. Casey spoke with fyi about what goes into the DI formula for success, the challenges facing newspapers today, and how a favor to a friend led to his current job.

You’ll be finishing your 32nd year as publisher of the Daily Iowan in June. What’s kept things fresh after three-plus decades?

The newspaper business is interesting—no two days are the same. That’s why I like this work. If I was in a situation where I worked with the same people all the time, that might get old, but we turn over 50 percent of our student staff each year. With a staff of 100 students, that means we have plenty of new faces each year to keep it fresh.

How do you continue to attract students to jobs at the DI?

That’s the first challenge: maintaining the traffic of good students through our newsroom and giving them the training they need. We’ve solved that issue by giving scholarships for the past 20 years. Right now, we’re paying for the education of 12 students, and that group of students leads other smart kids to our door.

What other challenges are facing college newspapers these days?

The general challenge for newspapers is to keep things interesting so people want to read, and that’s no different here—the only way to be viable is to be good. In the last three years, we’ve made some big changes: starting Daily Iowan Television, expanding our Internet presence, and concentrating on local coverage. People can get wire copy anywhere. We’re trying to cover the campus and the University community in minutiae, and write about people around campus. I’ve long preached that people are interested in people. If we focus on that, we’ll continue to be seen with interest.

The Daily Iowan is a student-run publication, but what sort of support system do you provide for these journalists-in-training?

The students work with a writing coach, a photo coach, and a television coach, and we constantly give them feedback. We conduct daily and weekly internal critiques, and we bring in six professionals from around the country each year to give them external input. The payoff, in my mind, is that when you go to other campuses and pick up the newspaper, you’ll see we’re better than most. We work hard, and we also have a long tradition. I tell anyone who becomes our editor that they’re up against history—don’t drop the ball!

The DI has the awards to back up your point of view: in fact, the paper recently won the Pacemaker award, the college-paper equivalent of a Pulitzer.

The awards are nice recognition for the hard work these students do. In addition to the Pacemaker, we received several awards from the Iowa Newspaper Association, where we’re pitted against the Des Moines Register, the [Cedar Rapids] Gazette, the Quad City Times. I’m amazed by our success when you compare resources. But not a day goes by that editor Jason Brummond and I don’t talk about how to get better.

How well-read is the Daily Iowan by faculty and staff?

They are among our strongest readers. Faculty and staff tend to be engaged in the habit of newspapers, and this is a reading community, a good newspaper town. With that said, I feel a responsibility to be good because the faculty and staff have read us for years. Their expectations are high; we can’t let them down. The real challenge is getting new students to pick us up.

When you began your journalism career, did you ever envision working in an educational setting for so long?

Well, it was a fluke that I entered journalism—

How so?

I drove a friend of mine to the journalism school to check a grade. While waiting in the hallway, I saw a DI job posting for an overnight truck driver. I applied for it. Four years later, I was publisher. So thanks to a lazy friend who wouldn’t walk downtown, I have this job! She’s my friend to this day, and we still laugh about it.

Once I got started in the business, I found I enjoyed it. I had chances to leave Iowa, but Iowa City is a great place to raise children, and the DI progressed to a bigger operation, which satisfied my need to grow.

Did your chemistry with students come naturally?

For some reason, I get along with college students quite well. I engage them, and I don’t look down my nose at them. I treat them as adults, which means I have adult expectations. Most students appreciate that. We tell them, “We’re not going to baby you. We’re going to critique you, but if you stay here and work with us, you’ll probably be a pretty good journalist.” Plus, our facilities and coverage opportunities are unique. The University and the UI Foundation have provided us with a great spot to do this.

Is every day a crazy day in the journalism biz?

They’re not always crazy, but they’re never predictable. Something in the paper might upset people. Something might be erroneous, leading to problems I didn’t know existed when I woke up that morning. Even when we make mistakes, it’s a good learning experience. I tell the students: if you’re wrong, admit it; if not, stand up for yourself. Don’t gloat in victory, don’t mope in defeat. Move forward and do a better job tomorrow.

If I could change one thing about your job, what would it be?

I think anybody who has to raise money would like to have someone bring them a big bag of money. I wouldn’t have to worry so much if that happened.

Finish this sentence: My colleagues would be surprised to learn…

I’ve been around for a while; not much would surprise them. We’ve been through a lot together. But here’s something: I am a good sailboat racer. I’ve been doing that for 51 years, since my childhood days in Clear Lake. It’s a good release—not necessarily stress-free but different. What I love about it: I’m 57 years old, I can’t win a running race or bike race, but I can win a sailboat race. And to beat a totally buff 19-year-old kid, that’s fun!

Do you follow sports teams?

I love the Hawkeyes, and the Minnesota Twins to a lesser extent. I don’t let losses devastate me. My son played college football, and that changed my attitude toward athletics quite a bit. I’m not a fan who will ever badmouth these kids. It’s similar to the kids at the DI—enormous effort goes into being a college athlete. I know how hard they work, and they’re young! 18 to 22! Why badmouth players, especially in front of parents, grandparents, and others in the stands?!

by Christopher Clair

Past Profiles

Pat Winokur, Carver College of Medicine

Tom Dean, Office of the President

David Redlawsk, Department of Political Science

Cynthia Joyce, Office of the Ombudsperson