Just like NBC and ABC this morning, CBS’s The Early Show had a hostile take on Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally scheduled for Saturday on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Correspondent Whit Johnson labeled Beck a “controversial conservative,” event speaker Alveda King (a niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.) a “longtime advocate for conservative causes,” and suggested that the fact that some attendees “will get there on Tea Party-sponsored buses” contradicted the idea that this would be a non-political event.
Yet talking about liberal rabble rouser and onetime Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton, Johnson offered no ideological labels or even a tag that Sharpton might be “controversial.” Instead, Sharpton’s event was described as a rally “hosted by civil rights leaders,” and showcased his slam: “The things that Beck stands for are antithetical to the civil rights movement."
For good measure, Johnson brought in a second Beck critic, Daily Beast writer and frequent CNN talking head John Avlon. “Where Martin Luther King was a uniter,” Avlon slammed, “Glenn Beck is a professional divider.”
CBS’s labeling double-standard made it a clean sweep for the broadcast networks. In their Friday morning show coverage, as documented by NewsBusters’ Geoff Dickens and Scott Whitlock, NBC and ABC also refrained from labeling Sharpton as a liberal (NBC called him an “activist,” while ABC offered no description), while both assigned the “conservative” label to Beck (ABC: “conservative talk show host;” NBC: “conservative host”).
Here’s how The Early Show covered the topic during their 8am ET news segment:
NEWS ANCHOR JEFF GLOR: TV and radio host Glenn Beck is hosting a rally in Washington tomorrow, and it's taking place on the same day as the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech. CBS News correspondent Whit Johnson is in Washington this morning with the latest on that. Whit, good morning.
WHIT JOHNSON: Jeff, good morning. Well, one rally will be hosted by civil rights leaders, one by controversial conservative talk show host Glenn Beck. But Beck insists the scheduling of his event -- on the very same day -- is nothing more than a coincidence.
CLIP OF GLENN BECK: This is a historic event-
CLIP OF MLK: And I have a dream today
JOHNSON: The Fox News personality's event will be a highly-publicized tribute to America's troops. Sarah Palin will be one of the keynote speakers, along with MLK's niece, Dr. Alveda King, a longtime advocate for conservative causes.
JOHNSON: Beck maintains his rally is non-political, but many of the thousands expected to be in attendance will get there on Tea Party-sponsored buses. And the event's timing has touched a nerve: The Rev. Al Sharpton, who will lead a separate march the same day, criticized Beck, saying [words on screen] "the things that Beck stands for are antithetical to the civil rights movement."
JOHNSON: Beck's rally is expected to be much larger than Sharpton's -- he says maybe tens of thousands of people. It's possible both events and counterdemonstrations could cross paths tomorrow on the National Mall. Jeff.
GLOR: Alright, Whit Johnson in Washington. Whit, thank you very much.
