Photo courtesy of WGRZ Channel 2 - Maryalice Demler of Channel 2 News.

Emmy award-winning news anchor and reporter Maryalice Demler of WGRZ-TV Channel 2 News has helped shine a light on society with stories like the wrongful rape conviction and exoneration of a Buffalo man, and the abuse of prescription drugs. Her Catholic faith brings a special perspective to her work. 

Whether it’s about fairness in sports, the actions of government, championing the underdog or being a voice for the voiceless, Catholics are usually connected in some way to these stories, Demler told the Western New York Catholic.

“As Catholics, we are all about seeking the truth. For journalists, it’s the same thing. I feel like I was led to this profession for a purpose.” 

Some television news stations, she explained, focus more on sensational stories designed to attract viewers instead of news that is important to people’s lives.

“Some TV newsrooms get distracted by the eye-catching video that’s available to them and don’t reflect and realize that first and foremost we’re journalists who should be upholding a code of ethics,” Demler said. “That journalistic code that we abide by at WGRZ is also completely compatible with my Catholic faith.”

“If you watch our newscasts, you’re not going to see every random car wreck,” Demler said. “You’re not going to see every random fire or hear about every random shooting.” 

Demler challenges television viewers to become cognizant of how the news is being reported, how it affects them, and to see if it has anything to do with their lives.

“When I’m doing my job well, I’m investigating facts and presenting both sides of a story,” Demler said. “Viewers decide what sounds right to them.”

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists should “seek the truth and report it, ” be “honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information,” “minimize harm,” “act independently” and “be accountable.” The code is framed and hangs in the newsroom at WGRZ.

A former Miss New York State title holder who went on to compete for the title of Miss America, Demler graduated with honors from Niagara University with bachelor’s degrees in both political science and French. She was able to pay her student loans with the scholarships that she won from the pageants. 

Demler said that she developed skills competing in the pageants that help her in journalism, including interviewing skills. These skills were honed in interviews standing at a podium before a seven-judge panel. She became proficient with handling tough questions, preparing for interviews and staying informed on current events. Demler found the training in pageants empowering because it taught her how to become an outspoken advocate and made her feel that she could be a voice for See News anchor page 45
change in her community. 

“It probably played a big role in my becoming a journalist,” Demler said. 

Raised in North Tonawanda, Demler said her family “really lived those Catholic ideals.” Her parents have been married for 60 years. Her father, who was a Lutheran, became a convert to Catholicism shortly before their wedding. Demler said her mother was “the spiritual force in the family” and a “strong Catholic mom.” Her grandmother and mother knew their Bible well, she noted. 

“Many of the things I heard as a child and thought were just axioms were not; they were Scriptures, (and) all our family’s guiding principles.” 

A maintenance mechanic for the city of North Tonawanda, Demler’s father instilled a strong work ethic in his four daughters and son. 

“You can set your watch by my dad,” she said. “He was very big on arriving at work early and staying late. I joke all the time that I may not be the smartest girl in the newsroom; I’m probably not the most talented or beautiful, but I will outwork you all,” she laughed. 

Demler believes her coming from a large family with different personalities and varied interests helped her become a good communicator.

“You have to stand up for yourself and be able to express your opinion,” she said.  

Demler confesses that after becoming a professional journalist, she was uncomfortable sharing her Catholic faith with the public. 

“In many schools of journalism, they feel strongly about journalists never divulging their religious or political leanings. I felt, to do my job well as a journalist, that I really had to be beyond reproach, particularly in regard to politics and religion because they tend to be two areas that can become incendiary topics. I wanted the community to see me as a truly unbiased person.”  

Over the past decade, as Demler sought spiritual direction and discernment about her faith, she grew to feel the need to participate in public ministry. Then came the time that she became a Eucharistic minister and lector at her parish, St. Jude the Apostle in North Tonawanda.  

“It’s been part of my journey, my eyes really opening to my own personal beliefs and what the definition of living the truth is,” she said.

She is inspired by the life of Buffalo native and political analyst Tim Russert.

“He was a great journalist who would be the first to say that his Catholic education and faith were formative and made him into the man he was. He shone a great light on our Catholic community all that time he was at NBC. I feel that I owe him a debt of gratitude that I’ll never be able to pay.”

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