This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake Tribune recently ran ads for Signature Books promoting two of its books about polygamy in the LDS Church's early days, "In Sacred Loneliness" by Todd Compton and "Mormon Polygamy" by the late Richard Van Wagoner, which was originally published in the 1980s.
The ads did not appear in the LDS Church-owned Deseret News. The paper refused to run them.
That puzzled Tom Kimball, marketing director for Signature Books, since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released several essays about Mormon polygamy, shedding light on the subject and acknowledging the plural marriages of LDS founder Joseph Smith.
In fact, the church essays cite "In Sacred Loneliness," which won an award from the Mormon History Association.
When Kimball asked why the Deseret News would turn down an innocuous ad on a historical issue LDS officials are attempting to address, he was told by an editor that polygamy is just too hot of a topic.
Hear no evil • Although the Deseret News refused to run the Signature Books ad, MediaOne, the advertising arm for The Tribune and the News, still charged full price for it — as if it ran in both dailies.
That is a new policy of MediaOne, which is controlled by the News since a revised joint-operating agreement between the two papers gives the News majority control of MediaOne's board. The policy seems to discourage advertising in just one newspaper since there is no discount — even though the ad is seen by just a portion of the readers.
See no evil • Ken Wynn, Maren Perez and Brad and Terry Humphreys are just a few of the more than dozen Tribune subscribers who have emailed me recently, expressing their frustration with their newspaper delivery service, provided by MediaOne.
The readers say they have been missed by their carrier several times and when they call to complain, they are assured by a representative, who is in Central America, that the problem will be resolved. Then they are missed again.
Some have said when they complain about not getting The Tribune, they end up getting the Deseret News. Most have warned that if the poor service continues, they will cancel their paper altogether.
Speak no evil • While the Deseret News refused to run Signature Books' ad, it made up for any lost revenue with a full-page Sunday ad, which also ran in The Tribune, scolding Mormon University of Utah fans who don't support the athletic teams of LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University.
The ad essentially is a long essay, stating that faithful Latter-day Saints who are Ute fans should not root against BYU. The anonymous writer spells out reasons why Mormon U. followers in the rivalry between the two schools should not dislike BYU, arguing that hurts their faith.
So, apparently, it's OK for non-Mormons to hate BYU. And it surely is OK for former BYU quarterback Max Hall to hate Ute fans.
Is this going to be a new question in interviews for LDS temple recommends?
One-stop shopping • Utahns now can learn about alleged misdeeds by public officials, whether by judges, mayors or attorneys general, at one handy informational spot.
The Legislature has just launched Ethics.utah.gov, a new website that gives you all the information on the state's four ethics commissions: the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission (governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, auditor and attorney general), the Political Subdivisions Ethics Commission (municipalities, counties, special service districts), and the Judicial Conduct Commission.
Each commission was established to hear complaints and investigate alleged wrongdoing by public officials under that panel's jurisdiction.
Before the website arrived, residents had to look up statutes or legislative rules to find out information about the four commissions.
And let's face it. Ethics problems among public officials have been pretty prominent in the news lately.