Clear Channel Acquired For $19 Billion

CNN reports:

Clear Channel, the No. 1 U.S. radio station operator, said on Thursday it would be acquired by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the company's founding Mays family for nearly $19 billion.

Clear Channel, which operates 1,100 radio stations, is selling at a time when the radio advertising market is weak, and listeners are migrating to digital music, Internet media and satellite radio, hurting radio broadcasters.

Clear Channel has substantial media holdings: 1,200 radio stations, 9 satellite stations and 30 television channels, as of last count. It is infamous for holding rallies in support of the Iraq war and for having a hand in banning the Dixie Chicks and Madonna for criticism of Bush or the war (though Clear Channel denies this, saying it was the local stations' call).

The eyebrow-raising part here as rochesterturning pointed out, is that Bain Capital was founded by Mitt Romney, current Governor of Massachusetts and rumored presidential hopeful. Romney has divested himself of holdings in the company five years ago, but having former partners own one of the biggest media conglomerates in the country could provide him a crucial strategic advantage.

Although it started carrying some liberal programming, it's obvious that Clear Channel heavily leans right. It's too early to tell how this acquisition would further affect that, but it doesn't bode well that a politician with presidential ambitions may get special treatment from the so-called liberal media that's already concentrated in the hands of a few.

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