KSL Meets with LGBT Families in Salt Lake; Decision Not to Air ‘The New Normal’ Remains Unchanged

By Merrill Knox 

Executives at Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL met with local LGBT families today, just a week after the station announced it would not carry an upcoming NBC series about a gay couple having a child via surrogate.

The station has not reversed its position on carrying the show, which will air on KUCW in the Salt Lake City market. In a statement released after the meeting, KSL said it “was helpful to talk together, to better understand issues, and to be able to discuss the reasons behind our decision to not air ‘The New Normal.”

“This was not a decision we made lightly and it was not made because of any single issue including gay characters or LGBT families,” the statement continues. “As a communications company we make decisions every day regarding our programming and we made a decision to not broadcast this program because we feel it had a number of issues including sexually explicit content, demeaning dialogue, and inciting stereotypes.”

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In the wake of the meeting, GLAAD, Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center announced plans to host a panel discussion and screening of “The New Normal” in Salt Lake City.

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