Commissioner Brendan Carr is objecting to what he says is politically motivated pressure for the FCC to reject the sale of a Miami radio station.
Carr, a Republican, cited news reports that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus want the commission to reject the sale of WSUA, “Caracol 1260 AM.”
“According to the Democrat representatives, the FCC must block this change in ownership to prevent what they view as a progressive broadcast station from beginning to air conservative viewpoints to Miami’s Hispanic community,” Carr stated in a press release.
He cited quotes in Newsweek’s reporting from Florida Democrats “sounding the alarm” including a quote from Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell that “To win in 2022 this must stop!”
[Newsweek: “Florida Democrats Sound the Alarm After ‘Spanish-Language OAN’ Buys Miami Radio Station, Fires Liberal Host”]
Carr called it an attempt by Democrats in Congress to block the sale of the Spanish-language station based on its projected political viewpoints.
“The FCC has no business doing the Democrats’ bidding or using our regulatory process to censor political opinions that Democrats do not like,” Carr wrote.
“What’s worse, the Democrats appear to be treating the FCC as merely an arm of the DNC — expressly pressuring the agency to take action that they believe will increase their electoral odds in Florida in 2022.”
He called it a “deeply troubling transgression of free speech and the FCC’s status as an independent agency” and asked his FCC colleagues to the effort.
Newsweek reported that the buyer plans to change the name of Caracol 1260 AM to América Radio.
