Republicans are up in arms over liberal megadonor George Soros’s increasing stranglehold of the media landscape, even while some conservatives ask why Republican donors are not adopting similar outside-the-box tactics to shape public opinion.
The anti-Soros fervor has been reanimated by a federal government fast-track of Soros’s purchase of Audacy, a massive media empire housing more than 200 radio stations in 40 markets.
Breitbart News exclusively reported on a letter from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on October 10 demanding answers on the commission expediting a Soros-back nonprofit’s purchase of Audacy just weeks before Election Day, sounding the alarm on the FCC for bypassing a national security review necessary for purchases on that scale financed by foreign funds.
Other Republicans, including lawmakers Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), have sounded the alarm on the FCC’s decision — reportedly a 3-2 decision made along party lines.
But the FCC is unlikely to reverse its decision, and conservatives are concerned with the purchase’s impact on the tight 2024 election and beyond as Soros increases his reach.
“What you now have is a left-wing Looney Tune who has access to millions of people in every market in the United States of America,” David D. Smith, the executive chairman of the Sinclair Broadcast Group media conglomerate, told Gabe Kaminsky of the Washington Examiner. “That’s scary.”
Soros, a billionaire boogeyman for conservatives who has successfully funneled a fortune towards radical liberal causes and politicians, is at the peak of his influence. Some conservatives worry that the 94-year-old’s mission he will continue through his son, 38-year-old Alex Soros.
“This is not a flash in the pan. Soros is power hungry, and the more they can centralize communication, the more they can control the public square, the more they are going to do it,” Mark Levin told the Examiner.
Most conservatives would likely agree the FCC’s decision reeks of politics and that, beyond traditional talk radio, conservatives have been underrepresented or even unfairly persecuted in the media.
But there has been little consensus on how to fight back.
Some are now calling for megadonors to steal a page from Soros’s playbook.
One conservative channeled Breitbart News founder Andrew Breitbart in calling for conservatives to think outside the box. The Examiner reports:
Conservatives often say politics is downstream from culture, a phrase famously attributed to the late journalist Andrew Breitbart, pointed out Scott Walter, the president of an investigative think tank on the Right called the Capital Research Center. The think tank was founded in 1984 and, according to its website, aims to “examine how foundations, charities, and other nonprofits spend money and get involved in politics and advocacy.”
But, Walter said, a towering dilemma is that conservative donors largely do not invest in “culture-shaping” institutions — media chief among them.
“What is the art of the conservative billionaire?” Walter asked. “Soros, by contrast, makes big investments like this huge radio play. If conservative donors don’t invest more, the damage to our country’s culture will only worsen.”
Money talks, but medium matters too, and conservatives cannot trust unfriendly platforms will get their message out. Smith, the Sinclair Broadcast Group executive chairman, told the Washington Examiner Republicans must ask themselves if they are willing to do what it takes to influence the nation’s political and philosophical direction.
“There are four places where you can have a voice in today’s marketplace: internet, radio, TV, and newspaper,” he said. “So the simple question is, if I was standing in front of every billionaire in the United States right now, I would say, ‘Do you want to have a voice to put out your philosophical perspective?’”
“If the answer is yes,” he continued, “then, OK, here’s how to do that. They have to decide: Do they really want to just sit on their money and put it in a nonprofit someplace? And then they lament the fact that Democrats control everything.”
Smith has put his money where his mouth is, investing in multiple mediums. He bought the Baltimore Sun, Maryland’s largest daily newspaper, earlier this year. Additionally, Smith’s company, Sinclair, is one of the largest owners of television stations in the U.S.
For now, conservative donors continue placing bets on Washington politicians to fight for their agenda. But with a liberal agenda the norm on Capitol Hill as Republicans disappoint conservatives time after time, some donors may begin looking for a better use of their fortunes.
Fortunately, Soros has provided a winning playbook.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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