August 22, 2008

Award-winning reporter Eli Stokols can be seen nightly on News2 at 9. He comes to Denver from KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he gained valuable reporting experience, a wife, her three cats, and about 15 pounds. His work there was thrice honored in 2004 by the Associated Press, which named him a state "Reporter of the Year." In three years there, Eli covered crime, corruption and his share of hurricanes. He helped cheer the LSU Tigers to a National Championship in 2003. And, once a week, he rolled up his sleeves to patch potholes.

In 2002, Eli received a Masters from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he spent the year reporting stories of 9/11 and its enormous aftermath. He spent seven months with a camera inside a Manhattan firehouse, documenting how the firefighters there coped with the loss of a seven-man crew. He is also a proud graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. There, he majored in American history and pitched for the Cal baseball team.

Eli grew up in Irvine, California, where his broadcasting career was born in his parent's living room, where he first read the news from his desk at the age of 10. It later flourished in the park across the street, where Eli would announce imaginary baseball games out loud for the neighbor's enjoyment, often treating them to double-headers.

In high school, he hit fourth in his team's line-up, providing much-needed protection for current Rockies third-baseman Garrett Atkins. Now, Atkins expresses his lasting gratitude with complimentary Rockies tickets even though the team practically gives them away. Naturally, Eli is also a big Angels fan and doesn't care if they think they're from Los Angeles as long as they win. He also enjoys reading, grilled cheese sandwiches, penguins and the color green.

He now lives in downtown Denver with his beautiful wife, Lane, and their cats: Bengal, Blue and Fitzgerald.

Click here to e-mail Eli.