TV Writers Set To Strike? I thought they were fired years ago!

[Grant Robinson]

On Nov 2, 2007, at 3:39 PM, Merrill Oveson wrote:

> I've complained about this before including to the Church (Mormon  
> Church) -
> even a letter of two to the first presidency.  (Yes, I hold a current
> temple.  Yes, I'm suspicious that my name may be on some nonwhite  
> list.
> Yes, I'm not the only one who has raised this issue.  No the church  
> does not
> have to be affiliate with NBC to broadcast conference.  They could
> independent like KJZZ, which airs whatever it wants - within FCC  
> regs of
> course.) ....
> KSL is owned by Bonneville Communications which is owned by the  
> Church.
> KSL is an affiliate of NBC - which means whatever NBC wants aired  
> KSL must
> air, with few exceptions.
> So essentially, the Church is broadcasting all that "bad stuff"  
> everyone on
> this list is complaining about.
> In spite of my objections, nothing has changed.
> Maybe if enough members said something, church leaders could make  
> KSL a
> family oriented station like (Is it PAX?).
> Frankly, it's an embarrassment that the church is involved in such an
> obvious and blatant conflict of interest.  I have to laugh every  
> time I sit
> in church and hear how evil TV is.

I get really tired of people complaining about this.  If you think  
you can work things out better, then why don't you give some creative  
suggestions?  KSL is not a network station, meaning cable systems do  
NOT pay KSL to carry their channel.  Without subscriber revenue,  
KSL's revenue stream comes almost exclusively from advertising.   
There are already a plethora of other public-access stations like PBS  
(so that is out, along with the government funding), and KSL would  
not be able to accomplish all that they do by donations.  TV stations  
that are not affiliated with a network and that do not receive other  
funding die a very painful death.  Being the NBC affiliate in Utah,  
KSL is able to do a number of things that no other TV/radio station  
in Utah is able to do/does do:

* comprehensive BYU sports programming (radio broadcast of games, TV  
broadcast of coaches shows and other BYU sports related special- 
interest stories)
* Broadcast of all KSL produced shows in HD
* Broadcast of local special-interest shows (LDS church features,  
Music and the Spoken Word, General Conference)
* Full slate of specialty radio shows (KSL Greenhouse, KSL Garage, etc)

KSL also does a lot of good in the community, which they are enabled  
to do because they have money to spare.

In the next paragraphs, "the church" will refer to the Church of  
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

It is also important to note that, although the church does still own  
some businesses, those businesses MUST be self-sufficient, and their  
income is neither used by the church, nor is their income  
supplemented in ANY way by the church.  In exchange for being an NBC  
affiliate, the church has a station and broadcasting arm that can be  
used to take the message of the gospel to the world.  KSL (and  
Bonneville) do MUCH more than meets the eye, from producing  
conference (and all the costs associated with it) to creating the  
public service announcements and commercials that help spread the  
gospel.  Would you rather the church stop building temples and church  
buildings and start spending tithing money on all these things?

If you can come up some viable alternatives on how the church can  
accomplish their goals without being an NBC affiliate and without  
using tithing money, I'm sure they would love to hear them.

Grant