DESERET BOOK Company

While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints handles the spiritual, Deseret Management takes care of the worldly. The holding company oversees a portfolio of for-profit ventures for the Mormon Church, including Bonneville International Corporation (radio stations), Deseret Book Company (inspirational publishing), and Deseret News (publisher of Salt Lake City's Deseret Morning News newspaper). Its KSL Television & Radio broadcasts news and information to the Salt Lake City market. Through Deseret Digital Media (DDM), the company oversees the website operations of DeseretNews.com, DeseretBook.com, MormonTimes.com, and LDSChurchNews.com. The Mormon Church formed the holding company in 1966. In 2011 Bonneville International sold 17 of its ratio stations (in markets such as Washington, DC, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati), to Hubbard Broadcasting. It made the sale for some $505 million. Bonneville retained its stations in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. It made the divestiture to focus on its key Western markets and digital holdings, and it plans to expand the regional and online presence of its remaining stations. At its newspaper subsidiary, the company's Deseret Morning News competes locally with The Salt Lake Tribune (owned by MediaNews Group). However, in order to differentiate itself in a declining industry, Deseret has been working to remake the Deseret Morning News as a news source appealing to Mormon readers across the country. Meanwhile, a joint operating agreement with The Salt Lake Tribune called Media One had previously handled printing, advertising, and other non-news functions of the two papers. In 2011 the Deseret Morning News moved its digital functions out of Media One and began exclusively selling ads for DeseretNews.com through DDM. Deseret made the move so it would no longer need to share digital revenues with MediaNews. Deseret Management has holdings beyond its media-related assets as well.  Such businesses include life insurance and financial services provider Beneficial Life Insurance and contract foodservices and corporate catering provider Temple Square Hospitality. Deseret Management also has real estate holdings through other subsidiaries.