George Soros is expanding his radio empire

Try as they might, throughout the years, liberals have not been able to succeed with their version of “liberal talk radio.” Currently, 91 percent of talk radio is conservative. In 2004, Air America premiered as the liberal alternative, but it only lasted until 2010.

But that might be changing.

Leftist (and some say communist) billionaire George Soros has filed the paperwork to purchase a large chunk of Audacy Radio’s $415 million senior debt, which will make Soros Fund Management the largest stakeholder. Audacy is the nation’s second-largest radio company, with 220 stations nationwide. The number one U.S. radio broadcaster is iHeartMedia with more than 860 live broadcast stations in 160 markets across the United States.

In 2022, Soros took over 18 Spanish-language radio stations when his company purchased Latino Media Network.

Image: A portable radio in 1923. X screen grab.

How talk radio started

In 1949, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized the Fairness Doctrine. This required radio and television stations to offer both sides of every issue. In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine. That policy change allowed radio and television stations to offer programming without needing a contrasting viewpoint.

At about the same time that the FCC lifted the Fairness Doctrine, more cars were being manufactured with AM-FM radios as standard equipment rather than just AM radios. Also, portable radios featured more FM stations. People discovered that the music they had been listening to on AM radio stations sounded much better on FM. As listeners switched to FM, AM stations needed something to keep their audiences. Having talk show hosts speak on issues of the day and encourage listeners to call in with comments was the start of talk radio.

Rush Limbaugh, credited with pioneering conservative talk radio, passed away three years ago this month. Rush will always be the gold standard for other radio talk show hosts. In 2019, he had over 15 million people listening to his show every week, making him the most popular talk-radio show host in America.

Today, Americans have more than just radio and television for finding conservative programming. Their choices include cable, podcasts on various platforms, and X/Twitter, to name a few. But AM talk radio remains a potent voice for conservatism. 

George Soros, who has weaved so much destruction throughout the United States and other Western nations, surely hopes to advance insane leftist/communist propaganda through his radio networks. Whether he’ll be able to have more success than the now-defunct Air America remains to be seen. 

Robin M. Itzler is a regular contributor to American Thinker. She can be reached at [email protected].