A year ago, almost to the week, Ernst Stavro Blofeld — scratch that [checks notes] — George Soros bought a massive stake in a failing radio company, Audacy. Even though it had filed for bankruptcy, Audacy was the second-largest radio network in the United States, and its stations hosted conservative shows from Glenn Beck, Erick Erickson, and Mark Levin.
My colleagues Victoria Taft and Stephen Green wrote some excellent coverage of the situation last year. Soros bought a 40% stake in Audacy for 50 cents on the dollar in a deal that the Federal Communications Commission, under Democrat control, fast-tracked. I’ll have more on that in a minute.
But first things first: naturally, the concern was that Soros would use these stations as outlets for propaganda, including a large swath of conservative Latin-American stations. What did happen at one California station after Soros’ minions bought that massive, super-cheap stake in Audacy is even more alarming.
Fox News reports (emphasis added):
A group backed [by] Soros, a far-left kingmaker, purchased a stake in more than 200 Audacy radio stations across America last year. Among them was the San Francisco-based KCBS 740 AM, which has come under fire for revealing live locations of undercover ICE vehicles and agents that were conducting deportation operations in the San Jose area.
The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has already sent a formal Letter of Inquiry to the radio station as part of the FCC investigation. The Enforcement Bureau proceeding is inquiring whether the radio station—which is licensed to operate by the FCC—is violating the terms of their FCC license, which requires that they operate in the "public interest." The formal Enforcement Bureau Letter notes that the ICE agents were operating at the time in an area known for violent gang activity.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is investigating and pledges to hold any broadcasters who participate in this type of behavior accountable.
"I want to express my thanks and appreciation to DHS and ICE agents. These law enforcement professionals are honorably serving this country and carrying out vital missions. Their safety is paramount. The FCC will hold broadcasters accountable for complying with their public interest obligations," Carr said to Fox News Digital.
The “reports” were brazen in their identification of ICE activity:
On the January 26 edition of "KCBS Radio Weekend News," it revealed specific information about undercover ICE agents who were "carrying out an operation on the east side of town."
"The Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network, which is a community defense projecting system for immigrant communities against deportation threats, first report[ed] the activity on its platforms," the host told listeners.
The "KCBS Radio Weekend News" host then revealed the specific make, color, and model of several unmarked vehicles used in the operation. The station also revealed the exact locations of several ICE agents working in the area.
Here’s hoping that the FCC will follow through on its threats and hold reporters, station managers, and even Audacy responsible. Now let’s turn to that sweetheart deal Soros received that allowed such an egregiously terrible thing to happen.
Both houses of Congress have pointed out that the FCC’s fast-tracking of the deal that allowed Soros to buy 40% of Audacy for dirt cheap smacked of an effort by Democrats to silence voices that dissent from the left-wing narrative.
“The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability wasted no time in launching an inquiry to the FCC, issuing a document request to Chair Jessica Rosenworcel shortly after the FCC announced its decision,” National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) reported in October. “Announcing the investigation, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) said, ‘The American people won’t stand for backroom deals designed to silence conservative voices and rig our media landscape in the critical months before election day.’”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in a speech last month:
Any time a broadcast license—as is the case with Audacy—is transferred, the FCC has to approve it. So, Mr. Soros’s purchase of WWL Radio and the 219 other radio stations had to go before the FCC, and it did. And it went—the approval for Mr. Soros—went through the FCC like green grass through a goose. It was a party-line vote. It was last September. All three Democrats—there are five people on the FCC—all three Democrats said let it go, and [it has been alleged that] they short-circuited the normal process… What happened was what some members of the media have called the ‘Soros shortcut.’ They just got together and rammed it through.
That deal wasn’t on the up-and-up, and I hope the FCC will look into it, as well as the dangerous radio report in San Francisco. (Full disclosure: our parent company, Salem Communications, is in the radio business as well, so this whole matter is definitely of interest to us.)
Here’s what’s crazy: you won’t find much about this story in the mainstream press. I did a quick internet search and didn’t find anything beyond Fox News and a few affiliates who repeated the Fox report. In other words, most traditional media doesn’t want you to read or hear the truth.
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