Meet the News Team

August 14, 2008

Ellyn Marks is a general assignment reporter for the CW11 News at Ten. In addition, she is the producer of CW11 News Closeup, a weekly newsmaker talk program featuring lively discussion and debate on both local and national issues.

Ellyn was named WPIX-TV's Employee of the Year in 1997. She has covered everything from high profile crimes and trials, including the Central Park Jogger case, to politics and entertainment. In June of 2004, Ellyn sat down for an exclusive one hour interview with Tom Cruise to talk about his controversial New York Rescue Workers Detoxificatiion Program to help ailing Ground Zero workers. She is proud to have been the first reporter to respond to the plight of baby Jordan Trimarchi. His desperate need for a donor heart grabbed the national spotlight, when at the 11th hour, he received one from an infant outside Chicago. Jordan's parents publicly thanked Ellyn for her sensitive approach in telling Jordan's story in a series of reports which helped raise awareness about organ donation. Ellyn also produced the coverage, and reported at, the last three Democratic and Republican Conventions.

The veteran journalist has won numerous awards, including two Emmys that went to 11 News Closeup for Best Politcal Programming in 1996, and Best Entertainment Programming in 2005. She was honored by American Women in Radio and Television for a documentary she co-produced called "Schindler: The Real Story," and she received a National Headliner Award for her work on the documentary "Men of the Intrepid Come Home."

Ellyn was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, with Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Russian Language and Literature. She also studied at Leningrad Polytechnical Institute in the former Soviet Union, and helped translate the Russian movie "A Slave of Love" for subtitles.

Ellyn loves animals, and is a movie and jazz buff. She has performed as a singer in nightclubs and musical theater showcases.