Hi, this is me, Maura Casey. Welcome to my Substack home of Casey’s Catch! I’ve been a journalist for 40 years, during which time I won an award a year for my writing or reporting. And yet, people cannot be wholly defined by their resumes: I am also a sailor, a grandmother, a compulsive writer, a bread baker, an amateur astronomer, a dog lover. I’ve been married for 39 years. I have lived in rural New England for most of that time. I love its slower pace, the quiet, and the rolling hills. I grew up fishing and I’ve always thought of opinion writing as casting a net for ideas, thus the name of this newsletter.

Why subscribe?

I believe in not being boring. I search for what other journalists are not writing about and the overlooked angle on current events. I try to combine good reporting with a personal view.

I wrote opinions every week for four different newspapers for decades, during which time, heaven help me, I probably wrote 5,000 opinion editorials. I served on the editorial boards of The Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle Tribune, The Day (New London, Conn.) the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, and The New York Times.

I don’t work at a newspaper anymore, but I am incapable of staying on the sidelines. And, God knows, there is a lot going on. So I write once a week to keep my head from exploding. And yes, it’s free.

So why pay for a subscription?

A good question. I’ll be honest. If I had an audience of one, I would write. I would write for next to nothing.

However. A paid subscription makes it more likely that I will be able to write for years to come. Think of a paid subscription as stuffing the tip jar in your favorite pizza joint (although, truthfully, my thing is baking bread). Although for now, there is no difference between a paid and free subscription, that may change as I branch out and do more interviews, get the hang of podcasts and other technology.

I want the world to be a better place; my guess is that you do, too. We could learn a lot from one another. So whether you are a free or paid subscriber, thank you. I am profoundly grateful that you have read my words and are willing to come along with me on this journey.