Industry News

Trump-Backing Talker John Fredericks Dubs Project 2025 a “Grifter Sh*t Show”

On the heels of the resignation of Paul Dans, who served as the director of the Heritage Foundation’s controversial Project 2025, talk radio host and broadcasting entrepreneur John Fredericks is calling Project 2025 “an unauthorized grifter sh*t show that was generated by The Heritage Foundation for the sole purpose of raising money.” Fredericks is a dyed-in-the-wool Donald Trump supporter and operator of 10 conservativeim news/talk stations plus the John Fredericks Radio Network. He adds, “This undertaking was never authorized, sanctioned, or endorsed by President Trump or his campaign. Despite several very direct public communications disavowing any affiliation by Trump campaign senior staff, the fake news continued to propagate phony stories, which The Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025 leaders were willing and happy to substantiate. Sources say President Trump made the decision to shut it down himself. Good riddance to yet another grift charade using Trump to raise money.” TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison commented on Fredericks’ statement saying, “It has been disturbing watching the once-honored think tank known for its even-handed academic fastidiousness devolve into what is now perceived as just another fund-raising propaganda machine in the mud-slinging political wars. This is the kind of credibility squandering that damages the true American conservative moment and people’s confidence in all political organizations.”

Industry News

House Democrats Want FCC’s Brendan Carr Investigated

According to a report in Forbes, House Democrats are seeking an investigation into FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s involvement in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy agenda should Donald Trump return to the White House. U.S. Rep Jared Huffman (D-CA) and 16 other House Democrats want an ethics investigation saying they believe Carr’s work on Project 2025 is “misusing his official position as anim executive-level employee of the FCC to craft and advance a political playbook to influence the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.” The Democrats say he may have violated ethics laws for federal employees and the Hatch Act. Carr tells Forbes that he sought counsel from FCC ethics officials prior to working on Project 2025 and they “approved of me participating in my personal capacity, which I did.” He also says they approved him using his FCC title in his biography. Forbes reports, “Carr’s chapter on the FCC calls for the agency to ‘change course’ and focus on reining in big tech and promoting national security. The FCC commissioner proposes overhauling legal protections that shield tech companies from liability for content posted on its platforms and supports Congress passing legislation similar to laws in Texas and Florida that punish social media companies for suspending or banning users based on their ‘viewpoints’ – part of broader claims by conservatives that social media companies are biased against them. Project 2025’s FCC agenda also calls for banning TikTok as part of a crackdown on infrastructure from China and calls for tech companies to provide greater transparency.” Read the Forbes story here.

Industry News

Yesterday’s (7/8) Top News/Talk Media Stories

Joe Biden’s determination to stay in the presidential race and Donald Trump’s prospective vice presidential candidates; Trump distances himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025; the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling; the intense heatwave affecting the U.S. West; and Hurricane Beryl hits Houston area leaving millions without power were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS.