Discussing Colorado Media Matters with National Review reporter, Andrews claimed, "[T]hey've been after this show a couple times"

Summary: In interviewing a National Review political reporter about his article on "liberal millionaires" in Colorado politics, Backbone Radio host John Andrews stated that Colorado Media Matters has "been after this show a couple times."

While interviewing National Review political reporter John Miller for Backbone Radio, host John Andrews referenced Colorado Media Matters in asking about Miller's article "The Color Purple: How liberal millionaires are buying Colorado's politics." Andrews, a Republican former Colorado Senate president, asked Miller to provide examples of how politically active Colorado millionaires such as Tim Gill and Pat Stryker are building a "permanent infrastructure of various organizations that stay in being between elections."

In response, Miller stated, "They're creating, for example, Colorado Media Matters, which is a media watchdog group ... " Miller further stated that Colorado Media Matters "even watches liberals. If they sort of stray from the reservation a little bit they get whacked. But the point of it is that it's a watchdog group that focuses exclusively on the Colorado media. And it has about a dozen employees."

Referring to Colorado Media Matters, Andrews stated, "Well, they've been after this show a couple times, which we take as a backhanded compliment." Andrews also parroted a December 2 column by Rocky Mountain News media critic and Independence Institute research director Dave Kopel, stating, "If they [Colorado Media Matters] have time to track a relatively small outlet like this it's indicative that they must have 10 or 12 staffers ... that's more media critics than there are in the rest of the Colorado media combined."

(Colorado Media Matters' financial backers include organizations backed by Gill and Stryker.)

Colorado Media Matters has noted several instances when Andrews has spread misinformation during broadcasts of Backbone Radio.

From the December 10 broadcast of KNUS 710-AM's Backbone Radio:

ANDREWS: America without apologies. America as it was meant to be. America with steel in her spine. That's our theme on Backbone Radio every Sunday evening. Right here, John Andrews, helped out by Krista Kafer and Joshua Sharf. And we are talking with John Miller, political reporter, National Review magazine, my very favorite publication ever since I was turned on to it as a high-school kid, a budding conservative, a Barry Goldwater reader and supporter back in the day. And National Review continues to be indispensable briefing material for me as a conservative and prep material for this program. John Miller's piece in the December 4th issue, "The Color Purple: How liberal millionaires are buying Colorado's politics." Very, very sobering stuff. John Miller, we talked about the sheer scale of the money, the shrewdness of the planning, the open checkbooks of Tim Gill, Pat Stryker, and Jared Polis as the principal funders. You make an interesting point near the end of your article that they are not just throwing vast dollars into elections to help elect their candidates and pass their ballot issues, but they're building a permanent infrastructure of various organizations that stay in being between elections. Give me some examples there.

MILLER: Well, they are creating organizations that don't go away the way campaign offices do. They're creating, for example, Colorado Media Matters, which is a media watchdog group that --

KAFER: -- that watches the right only.

MILLER: Excuse me?

KAFER: That watches the right exclusively.

MILLER: Yeah. It certainly doesn't watch the left. It, um --

ANDREWS: I had a [unintelligible]

MILLER: It even watches liberals. If they sort of stray from the reservation a little bit they get whacked. But the point of it is that it's a watchdog group that focuses exclusively on the Colorado media. And it has about a dozen employees.

ANDREWS: Well, they've been after this show a couple times, which we take as a backhanded compliment.

KAFER: So say "Hi."

ANDREWS: But if they have time -- if they have time to track a relatively small outlet like this, it's indicative that they must have 10 or 12 staffers, and, as Dave Kopel, a media critic of the Rocky Mountain News and employee of the Independence Institute, states in your story, John, that -- that's more media critics than there are in the rest of the Colorado media --

MILLER: That's right.

ANDREWS: -- combined.

MILLER: It's sort of amazing when you think about it. And, yes, they are listening, they are reading all the papers, and then on their website they will have this barrage of criticism about, you know, alleged right-wing bias in the media.

—C.H.