Earlier this month, the investment firm founded by George Soros acquired over $400 million worth of debt owed by the nation’s second-largest radio network in a ploy to gain a stake in the media conglomerate, the latest in a series of media-related moves made by organizations tied to Soros.
Soros Fund Management has acquired over $400 million worth of debt owed by Audacy, the nation’s second-largest network of radio stations, bankruptcy filings show. Soros and entities linked to him have previously poured money into local news operations, funded the acquisition of newspapers, purchased other radio stations and bankrolled pro-Democrat news websites.
Audacy is currently pursuing a restructuring arrangement that would give debt holders equity stakes in the company proportional to the debt they are owed, the company announced via press release. The arrangement allowing people holding company debt to become equity shareholders is subject to court approval, according to Audacy.
One individual close to the situation, a Republican speaking to the New York Post, said that he believes Soros may be seeking to acquire the stake to influence public opinion ahead of the 2024 election.
Audacy owns more than 200 radio stations nationwide, only being exceeded in size by radio giant iHeartMedia.
The Audacy purchase is just the latest in a series of moves made by Soros and his affiliated philanthropies to involve themselves in media operations.
Latino Media Network purchased a group of 18 Spanish-language radio stations operating across the country for approximately $60 million in 2022 using a loan from Lakestar Finance, an investment firm where Soros Fund Management serves as the “principal investment manager,” according to a SEC filing.
Some radio hosts left the stations purchased by the Soros-backed group, citing editorial disputes.
The purchase coincided with concerns among some that Democrats were losing support among Hispanics.
Soros’ philanthropic arms have also poured millions into local news operations in recent years.
The Foundation to Promote Open Society gave nearly $2 million to the Lenfest Institute between 2019 and 2022, according to a grant database. The same foundation also gave over half a million to the Institute for Nonprofit News between 2020 and 2022, according to the grant database.
The Lenfest Institute owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and provides operational support to local media outlets across the country, per its website.
The Institute for Nonprofit News, meanwhile, “strengthens and supports” over 400 news operations across the country by providing them with funding and instructing them on how to better integrate “racial equity and inclusion” in their newsrooms, according to the organization’s website.
Open Society Foundations, another one of Soros’ nonprofits, reportedly gave money to the National Trust for Local News, which Soros then directed the organization to use in order to purchase 22 news publications in Maine.
Soros’ support of nonprofit local news has, at times, been more clearly partisan.
Fund for Policy Reform, an organization founded and funded by Soros, gave Courier Newsroom $5 million between 2021 and 2022.
Courier Newsroom is a coalition of websites that present themselves as local news operations but have been accused of primarily working to help Democrats get elected.
“The Open Society Foundations believe a free and independent media is a cornerstone of democracy and freedom, and we are proud of our grantees doing the hard work to advance those principles,” an Open Society spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Soros’ involvement in media has been long standing. The billionaire philanthropist’s tens of millions in spending on media projects stretches back to at least 2003, according to a Media Research Center report.
A spokesperson for Soros did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Robert Schmad on February 18, 2024
