Dan Gainor
Opinion
FoxNews.com
5/11/2011
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two part series on George Soros and the media.
When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio , it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.
Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Christiane Amanpour‘ ethical code stating: “avoid all conflicts real or perceived.”
This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Centers Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media.
The investigative reporting start-up ProPublica is a prime example. ProPublica, which recently won its second Pulitzer Prize, initially was given millions of dollars from the Sandler Foundation to “strengthen the progressive infrastructure” – “progressive” being the code word for very liberal. In 2010, it also received a two-year contribution of $125,000 each year from the Open Society Foundations. In case you wonder where that money comes from, the OSF website is www.soros.org. It is a network of more than 30 international foundations, mostly funded by Soros, who has contributed more than $8 billion to those efforts…
The article continues at FoxNews.com
Related: IRS May Start Taxing Contributions to Political Advocacy Groups
The IRS has sent letters to five donors informing them their contributions to nonprofit advocacy groups active in politics may be subject to gift taxes, The New York Times is reporting.
The IRS would not name the recipients of the letters, but the move have big ramifications for billionaire donors like George Soros and the Koch brothers, who have funneled millions to nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporations that do not have to disclose their donors…
