Incoming CBS Anchor Pelley Mimics MSNBC's Pledge: 'We're Going to Be Leaning Forward'

Published: 5/6/2011 2:35 AM ET

Scott Pelley, the incoming anchor for the CBS Evening News,
dropped by Washington, DC's CBS affiliate on Wednesday where he mimicked left-wing MSNBC's "Lean Forward" slogan as he promised: "We're going to be leaning forward."

On DCRTV.com I saw a link to online video of a WUSA-TV story about Pelley's May 4 visit to the Gannett-owned station where he pledged: "We're going to cover hard news. We're going to be aggressive about that. We're going to be leaning forward."

Very unlike MSNBC, however, he pledged fairness: "Were going to be all about original reporting, unique insight and being fair to everybody involved in a story. It is just that simple." (Audio: MP3 clip)

Check out the MRC's Profile in Bias on Pelley collated by Geoffrey Dickens: "Pelley's Liberal Path to the Anchor Chair."

Pelley's description of what his post-Katie Couric newscast will provide starting on June 6, as aired in the WUSA-TV story:

We're going to cover hard news. We're going to be aggressive about that. We're going to be leaning forward. We're going to take the broadcast on the road when we can add some reporting to what's going on in the world. And the broadcast is going to be about hard news from beginning to end. The folks at home are telling us that that's what they want to see.

Were going to be all about original reporting, unique insight and being fair to everybody involved in a story. It is just that simple.

- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.