Soros-linked fund to acquire more than 200 local radio stations weeks before election

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led 40 of her Republican colleagues in demanding answers from the Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding her recent decision to fast-track a media deal allowing the Fund for Policy Reform, a group aligned with Democratic mega-donor George Soros, to buy over 200 radio stations just weeks before the 2024 election.

With a party line vote of 3-2, the decision at the Commission level by the Democratic members of the FCC to temporarily waive the required national security review and allow excessive foreign ownership of American radio stations is deeply disturbing.

KEY LETTER EXCERPT:

“It is highly concerning that the FCC did not follow regular order for a transaction of this magnitude. Licensees and investors need certainty that the FCC will follow its rules and procedures when approving transactions so that the broadcast industry can have the resources it needs to continue serving the public.” 

BACKGROUND:

• Audacy, Inc., a radio broadcasting group, which owns more than 200 radio-station licenses, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. 
• Audacy’s filings revealed that a George Soros-backed group known as the Fund for Policy Reform had acquired at least 40 percent of Audacy’s debt.  
• Audacy estimated that, upon emerging from bankruptcy, 25 percent or more of its stock would be indirectly foreign owned, which triggers FCC review.  
• This review process requires national security agencies to review the transaction and offer any policy or national security concerns.  
• On September 30, 2024, the FCC released an Order granting a temporary waiver of this review process, delaying a national security review until after the bankruptcy process is complete and allowing foreign control of a significant number of radio stations across the entire United States, weeks before a national election.

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