The left took over mainstream media. Now Soros is buying out talk radio.

Part of my job is to inform you about the direction we are headed and how fast are we are headed there. Let me give you three mile markers that are gravely concerning.

Last week on my radio show, I told you that Soros Fund Management, run by billionaire George Soros and his son, Alex, is on the verge of taking control of Audacy. Audacy is the second-largest broadcaster in America. Only iHeartRadio owns more.

The left is going to take the whole industry through public-private partnerships, and it's going to succeed because our billionaires do nothing.

iHeart Radio has the Premiere Radio networks. I've worked for this company in one way or another since 1989. It is my partner with my radio program, and the company has always been very supportive. If it weren't for this company, my show wouldn’t be heard anywhere. Thank God iHeart is the only broadcaster right now not under attack.

The problem began when Audacy amassed $1.9 billion in debt and filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Now Soros is taking on the fund, and the his company will be the largest shareholder once the bankruptcy proceedings conclude. His company is buying up and dismantling radio.

Last year, Soros bought 50 Spanish-language radio stations. Gee, isn’t that interesting? Now he's buying up the second-largest broadcaster in America. Audacy owns 220 stations, some of the biggest talk news stations in the country.

George Soros has spent more than $21 billion over the last few decades. He spent $1.3 billion in 2022 alone. Most of that cash went to left-wing causes, including Media Matters, Planned Parenthood, and the Sunrise Movement. He is the guy who has installed radical prosecutors and radical attorneys general all over the country, and now he’s buying up talk radio.

Why would you do that? Why would you buy all those broadcasters? It seems like it’s a failing industry, right? It isn’t. About 80% of Americans still listen to radio. That statistic is incredible. And now the second-largest broadcaster is going to be in the hands of the Soros family.

That's the first mile marker.

Next is Cumulus. Cumulus used to be the ABC Radio Network, and at one point, it was America’s largest radio network. Now it is the third-largest. Cumulus is facing a takeover from an investor based in Singapore. As a part of the process of its bankruptcy, the company has asked for — and received — permission from the Federal Communications Commission to become as much as “100% foreign-owned.” So the third-largest broadcaster in the United States is about to go to a Singapore holding company. How does this bid for America?

That’s the second mile marker. But don't worry, it gets even better for radio.

Last week, Commissioner Brendan Carr announced that the FCC would require every broadcaster in the United States to start posting a race and gender scorecard that breaks down the demographics of its workforce. Activists lobbied for this because they want to see businesses pressured into hiring people based on their race and gender. Courts have already overturned the FCC twice for pressuring broadcasters to make hiring decisions in violation of the Constitution.

I dissent. I don’t care what your gender is. I don't care who you sleep with. I don’t care what color you are. I really don’t. I want to know what’s inside your head. I want to know how you think. Can you bring something different to the table that I don’t bring? Can you fit what your different thinking is into what I'm trying to accomplish? If you can, great! That’s how I hire. And now we need to start hiring based on gender and race and everything that should not define a person.

Let me give you the last mile marker.

CBS News just threw out Catherine Herridge. I worked with Herridge at Fox News. We don’t agree on everything all the time, but without a doubt, she’s a highly credible journalist.She was one of 800 people, including 20 journalists, who were recently let go. What’s the big deal? CBS points to financial pressures. But could it be that Herridge, as the New York Post describes her, is a “constant thorn in the side of the Biden administration”? Could it be that actual journalists aren’t welcomed at CBS any more?

Mainstream media is collapsing. When I was at the height of Fox News, I said, "We have to get out of here." Everybody thought I was crazy because everyone worked their whole lives to get there. But I said the whole thing was going to burn itself down. And now here we are. I also said at that time that if you're working for mainstream media during its collapse and you survive, you’ll then be working for the government. All of these people will get bailed out by the federal government.

I remember sitting in so many meetings with big companies that were trying to figure out how to solve the media problem. At the time we were doing it better than anybody else, but we had no margin of error. It was all on me. I remember sitting in those meetings and saying to these business leaders, "Your numbers don't make sense. I’m sorry, guys. I’m not an accountant. I’m not a good businessman. But I can look at this and I can see this isn’t going to work." It was all hype. Now all that hype is over, and it’s all falling apart. What remains of the mainstream media is falling apart.

But while the war has long been raging against the mainstream media, it’s been all quiet for quite some time on the Western front of talk radio. There haven’t been any attacks on talk radio except being squished with the rise of digital media. Until now.

The left is going to take the whole industry through public-private partnerships, and it's going to succeed because our billionaires do nothing. Honest to God, our billionaires who believe in America do nothing to protect and safeguard our freedoms that they claim to love. The only one I know who is actually putting his money where his mouth is is Donald Trump. Perhaps a handful more.

What about you? Do you want to stay in the shadows? That’s fine. But it will be to your detriment.

Want more from Glenn Beck? Get Glenn's FREE email newsletter with his latest insights, top stories, show prep, and more delivered to your inbox.