The FCC voted 3-2 earlier this month to allow a restructured Audacy Inc., now controlled by the Soros-funded nonprofit Fund for Policy Reform, to maintain over 200 broadcast licenses as it emerges from bankruptcy proceedings. On Monday, the commission released the text of its decision, which has drawn considerable scrutiny from Republican opponents concerned about the involvement of George Soros and his son Alexander.
“In this decision, we approve the assignment of licenses held by Audacy, which has been under the control of a bankruptcy court, to the new Audacy, so that the company can emerge from bankruptcy proceedings,” said FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat whom President Barack Obama first nominated to the commission. She argued that the process used to approve the Audacy restructuring is the same as recent transactions involving radio networks such as Cumulus Media and iHeart.
“To suggest otherwise is cynical and wrong, as this precedent clearly demonstrates. Our practice here and in these prior cases is designed to facilitate the prompt and orderly emergence from bankruptcy of a company that is a licensee under the Communications Act,” she added.
Republican FCC commissioner Brendan Carr issued a dissenting statement accusing the commission of expediting the licensing in an “unprecedented” fashion instead of following federal law.
“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,” Carr said
“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.”
A Trump appointee to the commission, Carr routinely criticizes the agency’s direction and testified about the Biden administration’s policy record at a House Oversight Committee hearing earlier this month. During the hearing, Carr voiced similar concerns about the FCC’s review process for the Audacy licenses, especially given foreign ownership concerns. His comments were featured in a letter House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Representative Nick Langworthy (R., N.Y.) wrote to Rosenworcel last week demanding documents and communications related to the Audacy radio licenses.
Hungarian-born billionaire philanthropist George Soros and his son Alexander are among the top donors to left-wing activist organizations and Democratic Party candidates. George Soros was the leading Democratic donor last election cycle and has bankrolled soft-on-crime prosecutors in cities across America, many of whom have later faced political blowback. His son is now overseeing the Open Society Foundations, the multi-billion dollar philanthropic enterprise that controls much of Soros’s political giving.
Laurel Tree Opportunities Corporation, an LLC controlled by FPR Capital Holdings LLC, a Delaware-based corporation, will hold a controlling stake in the new Audacy, according to the FCC decision. FPR Capital Holdings is managed by the Fund for Policy Reform, a Soros-funded non-profit trust tied to Soros’s the Open Society network that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to left-wing causes. Alexander Soros is a board member of the Fund for Policy Reform trust.
FPR also holds a stake in the Latino Media Network, LLC, a left-wing company that acquired 18 Hispanic radio stations and raised $80 million upon its launch.
