From intrigue at the Vatican to the migrant crisis in Europe to the pleasures of the abundant food and culture of Italy, Sylvia Poggioli has spent more than 50 years in journalism, including the last 41 on NPR’s international desk. Now, Poggioli is wrapping up her tenure — personally moving on to new adventures while simultaneously leaving these airwaves a little less rich. But before she goes, Sylvia Poggioli joins us to look back and ahead.
You first went to Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship. What were you studying?
Italian literature, but it was 1968 and you were probably not born then, but you may have heard that there was a lot of political turmoil and student protests all over Europe, as well as in the United States. So, the university was occupied by students for the entire year so there were no courses. So basically, my experience of that year was much more taking part in political demonstrations. So I spent a lot of time in the streets of Rome.
How did you start working as a journalist?
I kind of fell into it. I had some friends who worked on the English language news service at the Italian news agency Ansa. And there was a night shift that nobody liked to do till 3 or 4 in the morning. I started basically substituting during the night shift for some of my friends and that's how I sort of fell into journalism. After a couple of years of that then later, I started streaming for NPR.
What did you like about it?
Well, I liked it much more doing radio, because my job at the news agency was really a desk job so didn't get out to do that much reporting. But what do I like about it? Well, it's taken me halfway across, certainly halfway across Europe and the Middle East. And I've learned enormous things from journalism. Working for NPR has been probably...not many people have such a dedicated and loyal audience as we who work for radio have. It's a very unique thing, the whole listener supported radio concept. It doesn't exist in Europe. Most of my friends here don't understand what it means because here there's just commercial TV or radio and then government-funded media. The public radio sense of community that there is also around listener-supported radio doesn't exist in Europe at all. It's pretty unique and it's pretty special.
NPR as a news organization has very much grown in stature over the decades you have been there. When you were starting out, was it difficult for you to get stories? Did you have to hustle a little more than you do now?
No, not really. It still isn't that well known. It is in the United States. But outside, it's not that well. I mean, some in some circles, it's very well known. But generally speaking, you know, if you go around and you say you work for the 'New York Times' or CBS, even in the most obscure village in the Balkans they know that, but they didn't know what NPR was. So no, it hasn't changed that much.
One thing I've always wondered while listening to you is that there's obviously a significant time change. How do you deal with deadline when you're in Europe and Morning Edition and All Things Considered are already on strange schedules? How do you actually work on a day-to-day basis?
Well, actually, I'm ahead. So, it's easier. And generally, we have a six-hour difference. And so basically, if I have to be on Morning Edition, I just can, you know, I get up. Well, if it's an event that's going to happen, let's say at 11 a.m., you can't cover it for Morning Edition. But you know, if you need to write your story, you've got everything ready. You can do it in the morning, file an hour before the show starts and there's no problem. Because of that six-hour difference. It's actually an advantage. Sometimes I've covered, in when I'm in places like in Greece or in Israel, there's a seven-hour difference and it's even better. The problem is been being able to talk to people on the phone. We used to talk on the phone, nobody talks on the phone now it's all email but anyways, reaching people at certain hours, that becomes a little bit more complicated, but in terms of filing it isn't that much of a disadvantage.
So why have you decided to step back and what will you do now?
Ah, well, I want a different pace. I'm a little tired of the idea of the deadline and always been in tune with the news. I don't like my phone, all the alerts that go on constantly. I want a different pace of life. I want to go back to reading long novels, which I haven't had really the time to do in a long time. So, yeah, I'm toying with the idea of writing a book, I'll need to do a lot of research for that. So that's what that's what I'm going to be doing.
When you look at your coverage and Europe, what are some of the big changes that you've seen over the time you've been working there?
Well, the biggest change in Europe certainly is migration. I mean, there are countries like Germany and France which have had a longer history after World War II, they had many immigrants from outside of Europe. A country like Italy did not have that situation. When I first came here there were no there were no migrants, but the number of people, the migrants from Africa and from Asia, given all the crises, wars, famines, environmental crises across the world, has more than quadrupled. The numbers are huge,, that have been coming. Big surges of migrants, and that has totally changed. That has had a huge impact on European countries. And what we've seen more than anything is been a great difficulty of traditionally monoethnic countries of Europe, Northern Europe, Central Europe, deal with this arrival. And I've seen the rise, explosion of racism and xenophobia that was probably lurking always under the surface, but has really exploded very much in many of these countries, especially in Eastern Europe.
Do you intend to stay in Italy?
I think so. Yeah, I think so.
Obviously, people all over the U.S. know you for your delivery and your signoff. I wonder what's the strangest place you've been recognized by your voice?
Oh, it happened once. I was sitting in a cafe in Rome and some Americans at a nearby table recognized my voice, but that's happened only once in all these years. So, you know, as I said, I’m just a nobody here. I'm not that well-known. I live under the radar, which has actually been, for my work professionally, it’s been very good to just be under the radar.
OK, if you had to pick one dinner to have in Italy, what would it be?
Ah, I'd go to Sicily. I would probably get this pasta made with sardines, pine nuts and raisins and instead of Parmesan cheese, it's grated breadcrumbs.
My mouth is watering. Well, Sylvia Poggioli, we are so sorry to see you go, but congratulations on your tremendous run and thank you so much for taking the time.
Thank you for having me. Take care.
