Barbara Alexander (Demsky)

Her Story

The following is written by Gerry Wilkinson... On Saturday, May 9, 1998 at about 1:30 pm, my phone rang. It was Barbara Demsky. You probably know her better as Barbara Alexander. After being graduating from Temple University in May of 1968, she went off to work at WIBG. Jerry DelColliano got her the gig, she mentioned, and for that she will always be thankful. After about a year, Barbara left Radio 99 to become a Producer with Channel 29, at that time, WIBF-TV. Making $90 a week then, she thought, if I could only make $100 I would be doing good. I think everyone at WIBF-TV was making $90 a week. While Ms. Alexander was producing the "Market" program live from 10 am to 4 pm, I was also working at Channel 29 in a management training program. On Mondays, I had to provide the production assistance on the live Jack McKinney TV program. I too made $90 a week. I don't remember ever seeing Barbara at the television station. Maybe we worked different hours or in different places. I don't know. Well, when Taft Broadcasting bought Channel 29, I was gone and so was Barbara. I lost out because they just wiped out the management training program. Barbara left on her own. Well, sort of. She worked as a producer from 10 am to 4 pm and the new owners wanted her to cover 9 to 10 am & 4 pm to 5 as a secretary. As she walked out the door, she said "no." Also she reported to me that they were paying her male counterparts about 30% more because they had families to support.

Leaving TV29, she left the City of Brotherly Love to head to the Big Apple. There Barbara worked doing public relations. In New York, she met Martin I. Demsky on a blind date. Martin, Barbara says, is now CEO of First American Title Insurance Company of New York. The Demskys have two grown children. The oldest is 24 years old and named Alex. (Could that be short for Alexander? Wonder where they got that name?) They also have a 21 year old daughter who is currently enrolled at the University of Miami.

While Barbara has done some voice-overs and lots of charity work in her community, she refers to herself as a "housewife," and nothing wrong with that. Barbara hails from Pottstown, Pennsylvania and lived in the dorm while at Temple. She believes that her older brother, Hillary, who was an Arts major, also had some involvement with WRTI. In fact, her brother who was four years older than she, was the motivating force behind Ms. Alexander's decision to attend Temple. He went to Temple and loved it and she wanted the same thing.

This is the WRTI Old Gang Web Site