In recent months, Eric Metaxas, Sebastian Gorka and Charlie Kirk have used their nationally syndicated radio shows to discuss baseless claims of rigged voting machines, accuse election officials of corruption and promote ballot fraud conspiracy theories.
Three men are joining a live speaking tour that will take them across Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and other battleground states to promote their views and Republican candidates.
Salem Media Group is a publicly traded media company that supports the radio hosts and their tour. The company is also hosting the Battleground Talkers trip. More than half a dozen other conservative media personalities are on the tour, including Dennis Prager, who has a deal with Salem.
Salem has quietly turned into a conservative media powerhouse as it takes an activist stance in the upcoming elections.
Salem said that the war for America's soul was on the line. The radio hosts traveled to influence those who are undecided.
Conservative media organizations such as Fox News and iHeartMedia are larger than Salem, which has a market cap of less than $45 million. It stands out for its mix of right-leaning politics and Christian content and its vast network of 100 radio stations and more than 3000 affiliates, many of them reaching deep into parts of America that don't engage with most mainstream media.
Dozens of religious and conservative websites are operated by Salem, as well as podcasts, television news, book publishing and a social media network. The company claims to have 11 million radio listeners.
It financed the film "2000 Mules", which claimed voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The film was directed by a conservative who has a deal with Salem and features interviews with other people who have shows on Salem. A book version of the film is in the works.
The general public doesn't know much about Salem, but their hosts are big names and they have huge reach, which makes them one of the most powerful forces in conservative media.
Requests for interviews were not responded to. Phil Boyce, the company's senior vice president of spoken word, said in a news release for the battleground states tour that "there has never been a more important midterm election than this one."
They did not reply to requests for comment. He said The New York Times was a fake news story.
The hosts of Salem have discussed voter fraud. Salem, Mr. Metaxas, and several media outlets have been sued for defamation by Eric Coomer, a former executive of a company that makes election technology.
Nicole Hemmer is a political historian and author of the book "Messengers of Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics"
She said that they are using their many different properties to spread misinformation.
Salem was started in 1974 with two small radio stations in North Carolina owned by two brothers-in-law. Blocks of airtime for sermons were sold as they added more stations. Salem is in most radio markets.
In 1999 the company went public. Salem stated in its public offering prospectus that it would focus on acquiring digital platforms and promoting content across its channels.
Townhall.com was bought by Salem in 2006 and other conservative websites followed. It bought a publishing company, Eagle Publishing, in a deal that included RedState, a conservative website, and Regnery, a publisher with conservative authors. After Simon & Schuster dropped his book in the wake of the Capitol riot, Regnery agreed to print it.
Salem said it had added a show hosted by two "culture warriors." The company gave its Culture Warrior of the Year award to Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, who has been goading liberals.
Salem has promoted to advertisers its "360 degree deals," meaning that it can amplify messages across radio, books, film and websites.
Salem's founding fathers have been involved in politics for a long time. Mr. Epperson was a Republican and tried to run for Congress. George W. Bush and Larry Elder were both contributors to the Republican Party. In Washington, Salem tried to get rid of regulatory hurdles.
Mr. Atsinger became the new chairman at the beginning of the year.
Ben Howe, a former employee of RedState, Craig Silverman, a former Salem radio commentator, and a third former employee who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal said that Salem executives mostly stayed out of editorial decisions.
There was an event at the White House in July of last year. McConnell and McCarthy gave speeches at the reception at the Capitol building.
The people who attended the events were very close. Both McCarthy andMcConnell praised Salem. It felt like a bunch of people working together.
Several employees were fired from RedState in April of last year. "Take on the left" was the site's unofficial slogan. Mr. Howe was one of the people who were fired. Everything changed within a couple of years of being in office. It didn't make sense for business to be critical of Trump.
Mr. Silverman's radio show was cut off in November due to his criticism of Mr. Trump. The man said he was fired.
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In May 2020, the company moved to eliminate new hiring, suspend its dividend, reduce head count, cut pay and ask for discounts from vendors, blaming the Pandemic for forcing it to conserve cash. The forgiven loans were from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Since that time, Salem's finances have improved. Its net income went from a loss in 2020 to a profit in 2021.
Salem has a good political platform. Salem executives said on an earnings call in August that political advertisers had spent more on Salem platforms so far this year than they did over the same period in the presidential election year of 2020. David Santrella predicted that abortion issues would increase ad revenue.
He said that the political environment has never been as interesting as it is now.
Kitty Bennett is a researcher.
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