Billionaire Phil Anschutz, who bought the Examiner in February, has rolled out a similar free tabloid in Washington, D.C. The rival Washington Post, in this story looks at Anschutz’s past business dealings and his support of conservative issues. The Post reported the following:
- • In 1987, Anschutz’s family foundation gave Focus on the Family founder James Dobson an award for his “contributions to the American Family.” According to its Web site, the Denver-based group works to “counter the media-saturating message that homosexuality is inborn and unchangeable” and one of its policy experts called legalized abortion an example of when “Satan temporarily succeeds in destroying God’s creation.”
• In 1992, Anschutz contributed $10,000 to a group called Colorado Family Values, to support an amendment to the state constitution that invalidated state and local laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Anschutz’s money helped pay for an ad campaign that said such anti-bias laws gave gays and lesbians “special rights.” The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the amendment as discriminatory.