Since it aired an anti-gay “documentary back in June, NBC affiliate News Channel 8 has been at the receiving end of boycotts from those who support the LGBT community. Now, those boycotts are apparently starting to affect the station’s parent company, Media General.
On June 27, the day of St. Pete Pride, the media company decided to air Silencing The Christians, a film produced by the American Family Association that criminalized homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Station management released a statement saying it “didn’t see any red flags” when it screened the film, therefore it made it on the air. The station reportedly earned $35,000 for airing the piece.
The LGBT community responded to the showing with a protest outside of the television station and waved red flags.
“While other stations across the country rejected the hour-long hateful infomercial, Media General/WFLA management … ignored their responsibility to provide honest, balanced information,” Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said in a statement. “Instead, they argued that disclaimers before and after the program should be sufficient to distance them from the repugnant message.”
The station has yet to issue an apology and has declined to air a pro-gay film to balance its representation of the community.
According to Equality Florida, several businesses have contacted the media company, telling it they plan to pull advertising dollars from the station as their contracts expire this fall.
