ASSOCIATED PRESS CORRESPONDENT NICOLE WINFIELD VISITS ELON UNIVERSITY

 

News coverage of AP Vatican Correspondent Nicole WInfield's Visit to Elon University on April 4, 2014.

by Genni Abilock

 

ELON - On Friday Nicole Winfield captivated young and old as she discussed her experience as the Associated Press correspondent for the Vatican.

 

The Vatican, a walled city-state within the city of Rome, Italy, is its own sovereign sate, and is governed by the Pope.

 

Winfield spoke of her journalistic experiences not only to Anthony Hatcher’s Media Writing class, but also to a crowd at the university’s Whitley Auditorium later that day.

Originally hailing from Greenwich Village in New York City, Winfield, 44, landed a job working for the AP immediately after graduating from Johns Hopkins University in 1992, where she studied History and Creative Writing.

 

Though at first doing what she referred to as “basic monkey work,” Winfield slowly worked her way up the ladder, eventually landing her first real job as a reporter in Miami.

 

While Winfield provided her background to audiences at both venues, the main focus of her speech revolved around her time as the AP correspondent for the Vatican, a position she was appointed to in 2001.

 

This job, which normally starts at noon, begins with a bulletin, or bulletino, a post published by the Vatican, which provides reporters with the Pope’s daily agenda.

 

Typically, these activities range anywhere from who he visits, to book launches, to his speeches.

 

While at times her job seems repetitive, Winfield describes her work as nothing short of exciting.

 

In addition to covering events pertaining to the bulletin, as an AP correspondent Winfield also has the opportunity to travel with the Vatican, often visiting locations as far away and exotic as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

Here, Winfield has experienced some of her greatest moments as a journalist, one of which involved being present during Pope Francis’ famous “who am I to judge” line, a statement made in response to his opinion on homosexuals.

 

Further, because Winfield has had the opportunity to cover not only John Paul II, but also Benedict XVI and Francis, during her speeches she also made a point to compare and contrast the three different men.

According to Winfield Pope Benedict, an academic all his life, never strayed from the rules.

 

“[He’s] a gentle soul who’s very shy,” said Winfield in regards to the former German Pope.

However, when Benedict stepped down in 2013 and Francis was appointed the new Pope, the Vatican was forever changed.

 

In contrast to Benedict, who Winfield described as neither a showman nor a crowd pleaser, Francis is in no way phased by the crowds, and actually enjoys them.

 

Winfield even noted a time where the Pope rolled down the window and waved to the crowd, an action unheard of during the reign of Benedict.

 

“A crowd doesn’t scare him … he wants that personal connection … and he seems to thrive on it,” said Winfield.

 

Further, differing Benedict, who was rigid on the rules, Francis is known to break them.

“Francis doesn’t really like the rules,” she said.

According to Winfield, in Francis’ mind, rules are there to serve a purpose, but if that purpose is achieved without the rules, so be it.

This outlook is seen in a recent decision made by Francis, where, just like that, he declared three new saints.

 

While in order declare a saint one must occur that a miracle occurred, Francis disregarded this rule.

 

“Rules have a very different meaning in the era of Francis,” said Winfield.

 

However, though Francis seems more open-minded than previous Popes, stating that even atheists can find salvation, Francis still remains a conservative, and is absolutely against concepts like abortion.

 

According to Winfield, while some disagree with Francis’ methods, for the most part people enjoy his unorthodoxy.

“He’s turning things upside down … I think the general public finds it refreshing,” said 

Winfield.

 

After both speeches Winfield opened the floor to questions, where audience members were eager to come forward.

 

When Winfield, who identifies herself as a born-and-raised Catholic, was asked if her religion impacts her reporting, she responded that she tries to stay neutral.

 

“I cover the Vatican as I would cover any institution.  I treat it as a bureaucracy,” she said.

 

While Winfield doesn’t let what she covers impact her, she tries to keep the emotions of her readers in mind when reporting.

 

“I know that what I write is taken very seriously and emotionally by the audience … I go about it with perhaps a lot more sensitivity and respect,” said Winfield.

 

Indeed, according to Winfield, her general aim