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Writer's pictureLuke Hanson

Church-owned KSL News Comes Under Fire, Issues Apology, for Complaining about "Republican party's antics"

Updated: Jun 17

 

KSL News Radio came under fire Thursday for a post asking "Utah's Republican party has been running into tough times. Are you tired of the Republican party's antics?" The post drew criticism from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) who claimed this was a clear violation of KSL's commitment to political neutrality. According to its website, KSL is "one of the flagship news outlets operated by Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." The Church has long had a stance of political neutrality. Utah is in the middle of primary election season with the governor and a US Senate seat among the offices up for election this cycle.


Among those critiquing the KSL post was Utah Senator Mike Lee. He posted a screenshot of the since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) with the statement, "Raise your hand if you dislike the way KSL constantly denigrates conservatives and speaks for the left." Replying to his post, he added, "Keep in mind, this is not isolated and sporadic. It is continuous and systematic." Trent Staggs, Republican candidate and Mayor of Riverton, Utah, said, "This certainly doesn't help me trust KSL and sister companies' coverage."



KSL News Radio deleted the post and issued an apology Thursday stating that they "did not live up to [our political neutrality] standard in our treatment of a story about political fundraising and the Republican Party in Utah. We take our journalistic standards seriously, and we are handling the matter internally."



In an official statement, the Utah GOP called the apology "a start," but added that it "misses the mark" because it did not admit to attacking the Utah Republican Party or give evidence for corrective action being taken. The Utah Republican Party called for an internal audit "of the bias displayed yesterday and in recent years." KSL News has not responded to a request for comment on the controversy.


Some defended KSL's post after its deletion. One Utah resident made his case for why backlash from conservatives was "ludicrous" on X. He claimed that the statement "the Utah Republican Party has been running into tough times" is "objectively true." He cited Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes's decision to not seek reelection amid a scandal over his association with Tim Ballard, a recent controversy over a Utah school board member misidentifying a female high school athlete as a biological male, and a recent Utah law requiring students to use the bathroom designated for their sex as evidence.



This is not the first time in recent months that KSL News has faced accusations of liberal bias in its reporting. In April, KSL was under fire from conservatives for its alleged negative coverage of a speech against transgender ideology by Daily Wire host Michael Knowles. Unlike last week's controversy, KSL did not apologize for how it reported that event.

 

Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News.


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4 Comments


ArticAK47
Jun 23

What a comedy show.

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The Church has shown it cannot maintain higher standards in education and media and should divest itself of these properties. No one needs more milk toast.

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Maybe the Church needs to get out of these contaminated industries. Political punditry is part and parcel of journalism, it probably always has been. If we are to stand apart as a people, we can't let any part of our religious systems become captured by political parties and agendas. We don't align with any party, and will always be diverse from them, regardless of whatever person we individually vote for in countries with democratic systems. None of them will be permanently "on our side". It has been the feature of history that the political parties of the USA have alternated between hating and helping Latter-Day Saints, none can be trusted.

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Both KSL and Deseret News would be sold, if I had a say in things. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has any number of other venues for distributing its positions on things of the world. The Church Newsroom web page comes to mind.

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