Radio host Mark Levin ripped apart an absurd FCC decision to waive a national security review of leftist billionaire George Soros’s foreign-backed purchase of radio giant Audacy.
On the Sept. 24 edition of The Mark Levin Show, guest Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr reminded Levin that the decision would effectively hand America’s most notorious billionaire de facto control of stations carrying a “number of conservative outlets” including several that carry Levin’s show. Levin was well aware, as one of Audacy’s stations with an enormous (50,000 watt) reach, Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Philadelphia, had already dropped his show.
Levin referred to Soros’s acquisition of over 200 radio stations as “a way of pushing and silencing voices.” Carr added that big investments in local radio stations are extremely rare and agreed that Soros may have a motive other than profit for buying Audacy.
“This is a free speech issue and this is an attack on conservative talk radio,” Levin told Carr. “The Democrats have sought to compete against conservative talk radio, particularly the big hosts when there was Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, my show, Bongino, others. We're really the targets here,” he continued. Levin theorized that the Soros empire was trying to get this done before the election so that “if they lose the election they still have these 220 stations and if they win the election they've created a precedent.”
Earlier this year, Soros Fund Management purchased $400 million of Audacy’s debt — roughly a 40 percent stake in the company — taking over 16 radio stations that Audacy features or streams, each also with a massive 50,000-watt broadcasting range. Following Soros’s move, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell warned the FCC on two separate occasions not to bend the rules to help the leftist billionaire spread propaganda nationwide.
In April 2024, Bozell wrote to the FCC: “The Communications Act does not contain a special Soros shortcut. And the FCC should not countenance this request for one.” Bozell also noted that the Soros group purchasing Audacy has admitted that foreign ownership of Audacy will exceed the legal limit of 25 percent following the purchase.
In a Sept. 18 decision, published on Sept. 30, the three Democrat-appointed FCC commissioners outrageously gave Soros precisely that shortcut in an election year, eliminating a potential year-long review. Carr also denounced the decision in a post on X after it was made public. “The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented,” Carr wrote.
The commissioner continued: “Never before has the Commission voted to approve the transfer of a broadcast license—let alone the transfer of broadcast licenses for over 200 radio stations across more than 40 markets—without following the requirements and procedures codified in federal law. Not once.”
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— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) September 30, 2024
The FCC just released the text of its 3-2 decision to approve a Soros backed group’s purchase of 200+ radio stations.
The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented. Never before has the Commission voted to approve the transfer of a broadcast license—let alone the… pic.twitter.com/gnMbl2z8Jb
Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News (818) 460-7477, CBS News (212) 975-3247 and NBC News (212) 664-6192 and demand they hold Soros to account for his enormous influence over American media.