Elisa DiStefano

I’ve always felt my purpose was to bring light to and shine a light on others. My passion always has been storytelling. And my gifts, I feel, are creativity and the ability to connect with people. So, I feel extraordinarily blessed that I get to do all of that in my own community on NewsdayTV.

As a young child, I would lug around my dad’s VHS camera interviewing people and making “segments” (although I didn’t know they were segments at the time). I was always curious, wanting to learn about other people and create. In high school, I loved doing the morning announcements and starting off my classmates’ day with positivity and the information they needed to know. I would go backstage at the school play to interview performers and then report for a TV show that would air in the cafeteria. That led me to a scholarship at Boston University to pursue a career in television and broadcast journalism. While a student, I was promoted from intern to on-air reporter at our local neighborhood cable news show. And that eventually led to a 17-year career, and counting, reporting on local news and neighbors on my home of Long Island.

I am so grateful for the ability to make a difference in my own community.

Over the years, I have had the excitement of reporting from some of the biggest entertainment events and interviewing the world’s biggest stars. But what’s closest to my heart is the privilege of telling the stories of “ordinary” people doing extraordinary things. Because of the platform I’ve been given, some of these stories have changed the course of people’s businesses and lives. I am so grateful for the ability to make a difference in my own community. That’s what I want to continue to do. I know how important Newsday is in the fabric of Long Island.