If nothing else, the 2024 election cycle has been educational for Americans. We learned that everyone in Joe Biden’s inner circle was covering up his mental condition, we learned that Kamala Harris is basically an empty pantsuit, and that her running mate Tim Walz thinks that there is “no guarantee on free speech…” But he’s just talking about the speech he doesn’t like. But now we are learning that a federal agency may be bending the rules for speech they like, and the results, ironically, would be a disaster for free speech.
George Soros is buying 200 radio stations.
Bill Gates had donated over $319 million to the mainstream media, including the BBC.
You have to realize something.
The media is propaganda.
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) September 25, 2024
Back in February, my colleague Bob Hoge reported on left-wing billionaire George Soros’s attempt to buy into a large chunk of the “Audacy” chain of radio stations after the company declared bankruptcy. Soros sank a whopping $400 million into acquiring part of the 220 station network. So, what is the latest on Soros’s attempt to control a good portion of the nation’s airwaves?
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) quietly approved Soros’s acquisition of 200 of those stations spanning 40 U.S. markets weeks before the 2024 presidential election. I certainly wouldn’t want to use the term “election interference,” but these stations reach nearly 165 million Americans. But there are several problems here.
Under the Federal Communications Act, any corporation that holds a radio station license can have no more than 25 percent foreign ownership. Soros himself has acknowledged that his purchase exceeds that amount. But the best part is that he is essentially asking to be exempt from the rules and wants the FCC not only to waive the foreign ownership clause but also to expedite the application approval.
RELATED: Tim Walz Has Dinner With His REAL Boss – Alex Soros
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has issued a warning to the FCC, warning them not to bend the rules just for George Soros saying,
“I think what’s interesting about it is that the FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing transactions that it has established over a number of years. It seems to me the FCC is poised, for the first time, to create an entirely new shortcut.”
🚨BREAKING: Chairman Comer and Rep. Langworthy (@RepLangworthy) Are Investigating the FCC’s Decision to Fast Track a George Soros Deal to Obtain a Major Stake in Over 200 Radio Stations pic.twitter.com/r1x5fDldzj
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) September 26, 2024
Now Congress has gotten wind of the FCC greenlighting and pushing through the Soros acquisition. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) sent a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, writing that fast-tracking the deal would allow Soros and others to rapidly “realize their ownership interests in, and take the reins at, these hundreds of local radio stations across the country.”
The Soros shortcut is also drawing the attention of House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY), who also sent a letter to Chairwoman Rosenworcel. In it, they requested any documents or communications related to the purchase. Comer and Langworthy also stressed that Audacity’s airwaves would be “directly or indirectly controlled” by “foreign individuals or entities holding more than one-fourth of the capital stock.” They also advised Rosenworcel that Soros is “advocating for speech restriction and censorship of conservatives online.” The letter from Comer and Langworthy read, in part:
Soros Fund Management is investing in podcast platforms and purchasing radio stations in major media markets, which has ramifications for what Americans hear and influences political dialogue in this country. Indeed, 31 percent of all media consumption in the United States consists of audio, even more than television consumption at 24 percent.
Both Comer and Langworthy urged the FCC not to approve the purchase and have given them a deadline of October 3 to submit any records or communications regarding the sale that occurred between January 7 of this year and the present.
Left-wing radio in the U.S. has never fared well. The last attempt, “Air America,” lasted roughly six years, from 2004 to 2010. It was designed to rival conservative radio shows like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and featured well-known liberals like Rachel Maddow and Al Franken. But Rush himself may have explained best why Air America failed. To paraphrase, he said, “Why would anyone listen to liberal radio when all they have to do is look at or listen to any mainstream media outlets and get the same thing?”
The folks at the FCC know full well what George Soros and his minions want to do and why and could be quite comfortable bending the rules to help.
It’s against the law to use foreign money to buy this many radio stations, so why did a Democrat controlled FCC make the exception for George Soros?
And why is nobody in our despicable media asking that question ?
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) September 24, 2024
