A financial group linked to the Democrats has bought 18 Hispanic radio companies, including the powerful Radio Mambifrom Miami, a traditional voice of hard-line Cuban exile.
The purchase was made by Latino Media Network (LMN) for 60 million dollars. The company is led by Stephanie Valencia, who worked in the Obama administration, and Democratic activist Jessica Morales Rocketto. They managed to raise $80 million in recent months from public sources, including organizations connected to Hungarian-born businessman George Soros.
The purchase was confirmed by Miami public broadcaster WLRN. today friday afternoon OnCuba got independent confirmation. The stations were all owned by Univision Radio, which also confirmed the sale to WLRN.
In political terms, the sale represents, four months before the mid-term legislative elections, the introduction of a new national dynamic in the electoral campaign.
Both AM and FM stations are located in 10 of the nation’s largest Latino markets, including Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Houston and Las Vegas.
LMN claims to have obtained financing from “leading Latino investors” as well as Lakestar Finance, an investment group associated with Soros.
Other notable investors and advisers to LMN include actress Eva Longoria, radio entrepreneur Tom Castro, former Florida Republican Party chairman Al Cárdenas, and former Miami-Dade College president Eduardo Padrón, both of whom are Cuban-Americans.
A change in programming at Radio Mambí represents a milestone in South Florida, where the station has been noted for overly extremist programming and a regular newscast that has drawn accusations of bias and racism.
“In the Latino community, radio still plays a very important role, and in places like Florida it obviously plays a critically important role,” Valencia told WLRN. “And Latinos are looking for trusted voices”
Democrats have long bristled at much of that radio agenda, particularly in the 2020 election landscape, when talk show hosts on stations like Mambí labeled then-presidential candidate Joe Biden a “socialist” who would convert The United States in a leftist dictatorship like the one in Venezuela.
Valencia said that will change, but insisted Mambí will not take a sharp left leaning under a new administration. “There are elements of Radio Mambí that are really important to preserve,” Valencia said. “He has been an important part of the community and experience in Miami. But we believe in. balanced journalism. One of the popular voices that would follow on Radio Mambí would be that of the journalist Ninoska Pérez Castellón with her typical hard-line analysis program. But the news will be redesigned, she knew OnCuba.
“This is good so that people can express their opinion in a democracy. It came at a good time,” former Democratic Congressman Joe Garcia told OnCuba.
