KSL, the Salt Lake City NBC affiliate, has announced on its facebook page and its website it will no longer air episodes of the network series “Hannibal.”

PROGRAMMING NOTE: After viewing the past few episodes, as well as receiving numerous complaints from viewers, KSL TV will cancel the airing of the NBC show “Hannibal” on Thursday evenings.
This decision was made due to the extensive graphic nature of this show. The time slot will be replaced with a special edition of KSL 5 News at 9 p.m.
NBC remains a valued partner to KSL TV. KSL is confident that with the proliferation of digital media, those who wish to view the program can easily do so.

“Hannibal” is a TV show about serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a literary character created by author Thomas Harris and initially made famous by the movie “The Silence of the Lambs” starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Read more

KTUL in Tulsa, KSL in Salt Lake City and WFTS in Tampa are the winners of the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation’s annual Service to America Awards.

KTUL is the winner of the Service to America Television Award for setting “an example of service at the heart of a community,” according to the NABEF. The ABC affiliate produced nearly 50 community outreach projects in 2012.

KSL wins this year’s Service to Children Award for making “great strides in ensuring elementary students read at grade level.” The NBC affiliate created a grassroots movement, “Read Today,” that has tutored more than 2,600 students in Salt Lake City.

For a six-week campaign aimed at creating awareness and taking action against domestic violence, WFTS wins the Service to Community Award. The ABC affiliate has “created a lifeline for many suffering in the shadow of domestic abuse.” Read more

The end of the most recent sweeps period has revealed a disturbing trend for NBC affiliate KSL in the battle for Salt Lake City’s news viewers.

The Salt Lake Tribune has taken a look at why KSL, which was once a dominant number one, is quickly losing viewers to cross-town rival CBS affiliate KUTV.

Outside observers might think KSL, owned by Bonneville International, which is owned by Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, would dominate in the city that is the geographic heart of the Mormon Church. Read more

Andrew Adams, multi-media journalist for Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL, found himself caught up in a facebook “catfishing” scam.

Saturday night he received a private facebook message from a woman he had recently friended.

“I got to know you from someone at tagged and Facebook who pretended to be you,” the message read. “He posted many of your pictures at his profile under the name of Mr. Ralph Brown both at tagged and Facebook. He tried to scam me, but I managed to find the real person in the pictures and that is you, Mr. Andrew Adams.” Read more

Dick Nourse, retired news anchor for Salt Lake City’s KSL, has recently been diagnosed with throat cancer.

“(My family’s) support, including that shown by members of my extended “TV family,” was key to my recovery during my first battles with cancer, and it is a great source of strength for me now,” Nourse said in a statement posted to the station’s website. “My wife, Deb, and I are extremely grateful. We know we’ll get through this.”

This is the third battle with cancer for the retired anchor who left the NBC affiliate in 2007. He overcame non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the early 1980s and later survived a bout with prostate cancer.

You can view the station’s story about Nourse after the jump. Read more

KSL, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, has announced a suspension of firearms listings on the classified section of its website as the “broader societal issues” of guns are examined in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. KSL posted a statement online:

Like everyone else in the country, the management of KSL is profoundly saddened by the tragedy in Connecticut. In the wake of this and other similar incidents, important questions have been raised about the ease of access to guns. These questions deserve time for careful consideration and we are confident that an appropriate resolution will be found. Accordingly, KSL has temporarily suspended firearms listings on KSL.com classifieds. We recognize that this may inconvenience responsible citizens who have used this service, but we feel this is an important step while these broader societal issues are examined.

KSL is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints. [h/t The Huffington Post]

KSL, Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate has unveiled their new state of the art set.

The set is surrounded by large LED screens allowing the station to change the background at a moments notice.

“We did not want to go with a traditional local news feel,” Tanya Vea, executive vice-president for news said in a story the station posted about the set. “We think we’re bigger than that. We think we’re better than that.

The station put together a video about the set.  You can watch it after the jump.  They also posted a story about it on their website. Read more

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.” Read more

Salt Lake City NBC-affiliate KSL will not air “The New Normal,” an upcoming NBC series about a gay couple raising a child, when it debuts next month.

KSL is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which in turn is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the second consecutive year that KSL has refused to carry an NBC show: in 2011, the station did not air “The Playboy Club,” an NBC drama that was canceled after three episodes.

“From time to time we may struggle with content that crosses the line in one area or another,” Bonneville International CEO Jeff Simpson told the Salt Lake Tribune. “The dialogue might be excessively rude and crude. The scenes may be too explicit or the characterizations might seem offensive.” Read more

Whit Johnson, who has been a CBS News correspondent based in D.C. since 2009, is set to join KNBC as an anchor and reporter.

Johnson will co-anchor the NBC O&O’s new hour-long noon newscast alongside Lucy Noland, in addition to reporting throughout the week for the station’s 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.  His first day is scheduled for September 10th.

“Whit is a dynamic journalist with outstanding storytelling abilities,” said Todd Mokhtari, KNBC’s vice president of news.  “As we expand our noon newscast, Whit’s contribution to our team will further position us to more effectively cover our expansive market and provide in-depth coverage that matters to our community.” Read more