The Media Research Center is asking the Federal Communications Commission to undo its creation of a lawless Soros shortcut.
Yesterday, the Media Research Center (MRC) and MRC Founder and President Brent Bozell filed a formal petition to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) requesting reconsideration of its order fast-tracking Soros Fund Management’s acquisition of radio behemoth Audacy, which owns the second largest number of broadcast radio stations in the United States. Soros Fund Management is controlled by leftist activist billionaire George Soros, a man with a long, sordid history of supporting socialism, censorship and anti-American extremism.
Under the FCC’s regulations, associations with foreign owners — such as Soros Fund Management — must undergo a rigorous application process. However, in September, the five-member FCC approved the acquisition of Audacy in a bitter 3-2 vote without requiring Soros Fund Management to first meet these disclosure rules. The two Republican commissioners, Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, dissented.
In his motion to reconsider, Bozell highlighted how the FCC disregarded its own regulations in order to empower Soros. Bozell wrote: “[T]he Commission’s own rules require it to demonstrate that an acquisition serves the public interest. However, the Commission’s decision contained no public interest analysis specific to the Audacy acquisition.”
Bozell’s petition also highlighted that in both her formal statement and her letter to Congress, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (D) misrepresented previous FCC precedent. Rosenworcel falsely claimed the FCC's Audacy determination was “identical” to its rulings in earlier proceedings. However, the rulings — or precedents — she cited were either not related to waivers at all, or were decisions made by low level bureaus rather than by the commissioners.
This same point was raised by Carr in his dissent. Carr wrote:
“The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented. 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. And yet the Commission breaks this new ground today without seeking public comment on altering our established regulations, without actually changing the rules on the books, and without seeking the feedback of other federal agencies with relevant equities.”
The New York Post previously reported that Soros’s attempted takeover of Audacy may mean the left-wing billionaire “was buying the stake to exert influence on public opinion in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election.” Between 2016 and 2020, Soros gave over $130 million to push his global leftist media agenda. He has also given extensively to the Poynter Institute’s so-called International Fact-Checking Network, which coordinates censorship efforts between various left-wing outlets such as The Washington Post and Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp).
By allowing Soros to take control of Audacy, the FCC has imperiled Americans’ access to 225 local radio stations covering 46 separate markets. This includes WRVA, which airs The Richmond Morning News with John Reid; WPHT, which provides Jimmy Failla’s show to the Philadelphia public; and three separate stations broadcasting nationally syndicated host and Blaze Media owner Glenn Beck.
The FCC’s favoritism towards Soros contrasts with its alleged harassment of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Less than a year ago, the commission revoked an $855 million grant awarded to Musk’s Starlink to create high-speed Internet service for over 640,000 rural homes and businesses.
At the time, Carr wrote a stinging dissent where he stated it was “obvious” that the FCC was “engaging in the regulatory harassment of Elon Musk.” The FCC’s revocation of Starlink’s grant came shortly after Musk purchased the censorship-heavy social media platform Twitter and converted it to a more free speech-focused space called X. Musk also published secret communications wherein the administration of President Joe Biden pressured Twitter employees to censor the president’s critics.
Rosenworcel, who had voted to strip Starlink’s funding, was appointed chairwoman by Biden, who is a political ally of Soros and vocal proponent of censorship. The next president, who will be inaugurated in January, can appoint a new chairperson. That new chairperson would be legally permitted to reconsider the FCC’s Audacy decision.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your senators and tell them not to confirm any FCC commissioner who supports creating Soros shortcuts. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
