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