Here are today’s Top 10 dispatches from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

1. NBC affiliate says no to Playboy Club. From The Wrap: KSL-TV, NBC’s Salt Lake City affiliate, says it will not air the fall drama “The Playboy Club.” The station said the decision was based on a policy of not airing material that large parts of its audience could find objectionable. KSL-TV is owned by Deseret Media, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Comment: It will be really interesting to see how NBC handles this one.

2. “I Believe” the Mormons deserve credit for taking a joke. Overall, the LDS faithful have taken the ribbing they’re getting from Broadway’s Tony Award-winning Book of Mormon with a heck of a lot of good humor and tolerance.  I’d say the rest of us can learn a thing or two from them. Below is a clip of the song from Sunday’s Tony Award show on CBS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tggtPHDmrR8&feature=player_embedded

3. Damage control or  sincerity? Tracy Morgan comes out in favor of gay marriage. From an interview with Russell Simmons:

Russell: Well, I love you man.  You have entertained us for a long time and I know you are sincerely sorry.  I will always support you, cause we need big mouths in the gay rights movement.  Especially this week, as we try to get gay marriage passed in New York.

Tracy: Thanks Russ for the support. I believe everyone deserves the right to be happy and marry who they want too; gay, white, black, male or female. Let me know where the rally’s at Russ. I’m there!…GO KNICKS!
Comment: “Go Knicks”? Where the crap did that come from?

4. Daily Show host weighs in on Palin emails. From Mediaite: Jon Stewart berated the media for looking for their Palin drug hit and taking the rest of the country on a wild goose chase through files of mundane bureaucratic files.

5. Ashton & Demi agree on email witch hunt. You don’t have to like Sarah Palin but common decency says enough is enough! From Mrs. Kutcher’s Twitter Acct.:

6. Cast of Doonby case braces for criticism. From WorldNetDaily: John Schneider stars as American drifter Sam Doonby in a daring adventure perfect for our times. Schneider and several of his “Doonby” co-stars, including Joe Estevez, Jennifer O’Neill, Robert Davi, Jenn Gotzon, Erin Way and Will Wallace, spoke to WND about what compelled them to do the film and why they think it deserves an audience…As for some of the daring parts in “Doonby,” Paul Bond of the Hollywood Reporter was granted the scoop that Norma McCorvey makes her acting debut in this film. McCorvey was plaintiff in the infamous Roe v. Wade case used to decriminalize abortion nationwide. She has spent much of the last 20 years trying to make reparation for her role in that Supreme Court ruling.
Given her part in the film, already attacks are surfacing against McCorvey by people who haven’t seen “Doonby.” So WND asked the “Doonby” actors if they are braced for attacks by critics.
Schneider, for one, was upbeat. He said, “If critics attack the film, I would say ‘thank you’ because nothing sells more tickets than critics attacking a film.”
Way said actors have to walk a fine line in Hollywood, but she hopes that “Doonby” will speak to her generation of 20-somethings and generations to come.
“There is the whole abortion issue that is brought up,” she said. “My hope is that what is created is a very healthy dialogue about the various different sides.
“I’m interested in making films that make people think,” said Way. “Maybe ‘Doonby’ will haunt people for awhile and make them wonder, ‘What was that really about?’ And that excites me as an artist.”

7. Report: Doomsday “prophet” has suffered a stroke. From ABC News/AP: The California radio preacher who predicted the world would end last month was recuperating Monday after suffering a mild stroke, his family and colleagues said. Doctors have been monitoring the progress of 89-year-old radio host Harold Camping since he was taken by ambulance from his Alameda home on Thursday.
“He is presently recuperating in a local hospital and the doctors are pleased with his progress,” Family Radio’s special projects coordinator Michael Garcia said. “Mr. Camping’s family appreciates your thoughts and prayers.”

8. Return of the Cabbage Patch Kids? From Hollywood Reporter: The Cabbage Patch Kids could be headed to the small screen again in a special that might be produced by Galen Walker, who is producing a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film for Paramount. Original Appalachian Artworks, which owns the brand, said Monday it has sold TV rights to Walker along with  CWA Carlin West Agency, a company created by Carlin West, a former executive with 4Kids Entertainment.

9. Facebook bubble bursting? From Hollywood Reporter: Facebook lost nearly 6 million users in the U.S. last month, according to Inside Facebook, a service that tracks the social networking site co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
Comment: Could it be that one day Facebook and Twitter will be looked back on in bemusement as fads of a bygone era — kinda like bell bottoms.

10. Words of wisdom from Conan O’Brien. From The Wrap: Conan O’Brien imparted some knowledge about getting and losing his dream job in a commencement address to Dartmouth University grads — but mostly he made them laugh…O’Brien turned serious, however, when talking about “The Tonight Show,” the show he sought all of his career. “It was the Holy Grail. And like many people, I thought that achieving that goal would define me as successful. But that is not true. No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you,” he said. “In 2000, I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today, I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.” Noting that he was breaking “a taboo,” he also quoted himself from his final “Tonight Show” sign-off: “Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.”

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11