A political reality in today’s world is that the Left has vastly more money than the Right. That is certainly a problem, but the more important question is how each side deploys its resources. We have just emerged from an election cycle in which vast amounts of money were spent on both sides, in most cases inefficiently if not entirely fruitlessly.
Some years ago, Glenn Reynolds proposed that the Koch brothers–major funders of conservative politicians and causes at that time–should, instead of supporting politicians, buy up all of the women’s magazines and tilt them to the right. That was a great idea. It would have had a lot more impact than pouring more millions into the coffers of GOP consultants.
The Left doesn’t have to buy up newspapers or magazines because it already controls virtually all of them. But give them credit, liberals do understand where real power comes from. Thus, we see this headline: Radio stars criticize George Soros-backed move to ‘silence conservative Hispanic voices’. The Left is concerned about Hispanics’ swing toward conservatism, so they are doing something about it:
In June, the Soros-backed Latino Media Network bought Mambí — a mainstay of Miami’s hardline anti-Communist Cuban exile community for decades — and 17 other Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision in an estimated $60 million deal.
Peanuts, in today’s terms.
The newly-formed network is run by two former Democratic operatives, Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto, who worked on Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s political campaigns. Valencia also worked in the Obama White House.
So the political intention is obvious. Where did the money come from?
Lakestar Finance, an investment firm tied to Soros Fund Management, is the key backer but there are other individual investors including actress Eva Longoria.
The deal is going forward:
Last month the FCC formally approved the deal, clearing the way to turn Radio Mambí and the other stations into a new progressive network. Altogether, the sale includes 18 stations, among them 10 AMs and eight FMs in the biggest US markets. Cities included are Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, McAllen, Fresno Chicago, Las Vegas and WADO-NY, the Spanish-language home of the New York Yankees.
Though the sale infuriated some Republican lawmakers, their protests weren’t enough to shut down the sale.
There is much more in the linked news story. Conservative radio personalities are vowing to compete with the new, far-left network:
“What breaks my heart is that Radio Mambí, which has always been an icon of freedom, is now in the hands of the enemy,” [former host Lourdes] Ubieta said.
She and two other Radio Mambí hosts, Dania Alexandrino and Nelson Rubio, all of whom quit over the new management, are now at Americano Radio in Miami, which bills itself as the nation’s first conservative Spanish network.
Let’s hope this foray by the Left into radio won’t fare any better than it did in the Air America days. But the fundamental point is that election campaigns should not be top priority. Control the culture, and the elections will take care of themselves. And, in that regard, the women’s magazines still would be a good place to start.
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