The Mormon Church(?) owns an NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City? Really?

[PatSeg]

The Mormon church owns an NBC affiliate? Why on earth do churches not pay taxes? That isn't a religious organization, it is a big (huge) business. This is insane. Oh and Romney can claim donations to this so-called church as charity and look like a great guy?


"Salt Lake City Mormons Refuse to Air Gay Comedy The New Normal"

After viewing a pilot episode of “The New Normal,” Utah Mormon church-owned NBC affiliate KSL-TV is refusing to air the gay themed show.


In a press release sent to ABC News, the CEO of KSL’s parent company, Jeff Simpson said, “From time to time we struggle with programs that cross the line in one area or another. For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time. The dialogue is excessively rude and crude; the scenes are too explicit and the stereotypes are offensive on all sides.”

“After viewing the pilot episode of ‘The New Normal,’ we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule,” Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL’s parent company, Bonneville International, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the Deseret News. CBS News 8/20/2012


Read more http://politicalgroove.com/2012/09/salt-lake-city-mormons-refuse-to-air-gay-comedy-the-new-normal.html

[kestrel91316]

1. I think the Mormons own ALL the broadcast AND print media in Utah.

[CanonRay]

4. They own the Deseret News

but there is another paper in Salt Lake that is not owned by the church. Can't recall the name...

edit for spelling

[kestrel91316]

9. I thought they owned the SL Tribune, too.

[fishwax]

13. The Trib has separate owners, but the two papers have a joint operating agreement

And have for about sixty years now, so some of their non-newsroom departments are operated by a jointly-owned company. The papers themselves have always had different owners though, and the Trib is currently part of the MediaNews Group conglomerate.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Churches DO pay taxes on enterprises not directly related to the church...

and make money.

I'm not thrilled about any religious institutions owning major national media outlets, but in Utah it is kinda the people's choice.

[Panasonic]

3. It should be illegal for a church to own a TV station

CBN nonwithstanding, but this is a major affiliate of NBC. The parent company should revoke the KSLC charter and offer another TV station their NBC affiliate.

[Cleita]

6. Since the airwaves are purportedly owned by we the public, it would seem to violate

separation of church and state, wouldn't it? I don't think they should own any of those religious stations. If people want to listen to their drivel, they can go to one of their mega-churches and listen in person.

[PatSeg]

10. That is what I was thinking

It just doesn't sound legal to me. If it wasn't for the fact that Mitt Romney is the republican nominee for president, most of the country wouldn't be aware of this. When I think of Mormons, I used to think of young men dressed in white shirts and ties knocking on my door or the squeaky clean Osmonds, not a huge multi-national corporation.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Should be, but it's not, and it's not a big problem anywhere but Utah...

where everything and everybody is a Mormon or agrees to Mormon control of their lives.

Save the outrage for something worth it.

[Cleita]

5. The Mormon church owns huge chunks of Utah, Nevada and Idaho businesses, many

of them media outlets. It shouldn't be allowed, but there are no laws against it that have teeth.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. The same station won't show Saturday Night live either

You would think NBC would do something about their contract

[dballance]

11. Those are two really cute gay boys /eom

[msongs]

12. it is a business using religion as a come on nt

[jonthebru]

14. From the beginning

They also own KSL radio. 1160 AM, unlimited 50KW clear channel, it was quite well run though very conservative.
Ownership is Bonneville International Corporation. I think they owned more stations in the past and were among the first to syndicate programming.
It may be church owned but is a corporation not a non profit.

[PatSeg]

16. I understand that as a corporation,

they are required to pay taxes, but it seems like a real slippery slope. I wonder what THEIR tax returns look like. I don't trust churches that become too involved in business or politics. Its a dangerous mix for any democracy.

[Ron Obvious]

15. They own lots of media outlets in the west

Even some you might not expect. Mighty KIRO in Seattle is, or at least was, owned by the same organisation. That at least explains why they employed that ignorant buffoon Dori Munson as a talk show host for so long. On the plus side, they had Dave Ross.

Haven't listened to them for years, though, so I may be speaking of the past.

[mojo2012]

17. Civil rights for the non-Mormon

Is nonexistent. As you discovered, something as simple as tv viewing is controlled. There is no regard to any other demographics except to the LDS community

[AzSweet]

18. The Mormon Church (corp)

has vast holdings..all over the world. They have the tax ins and outs down to a science. Lots more info on the real mormon church at exmormon.org. It is a recovery site, and yes, some people are angry there (wouldnt you be if you discovered you had been duped all of your life?), but there is lots of good info and lots of good links to give insight.

[Ron Obvious]

19. Thanks for the link!

Thanks for the link! As an atheist, I have no love for any religion, but it disturbs me when I hear people claim that all religions are equally bad. There absolutely are degrees of awfulness in religion. You just can't compare relatively benign organisations like the church of England with Scientology, Christian Scientists, Jehovahs or the Mormon church. Those that are secretive about what it is they really believe are almost certainly worse than those that are not.