The Associated Press is just the latest news org to make that claim. Detailing how nearly three dozen advertisers have fled Beck's program in response to the “racist” charge Beck made on the air, the AP over the weekend reported [emphasis]:

[Beck] was actually on another Fox show July 28 when he referred to Obama as a racist with “a deep-seated hatred for white people.” The network immediately distanced itself from Beck's statement, but Beck didn't. He used his radio show the next day to explain why he believed that.

That language has been used over and over again by reporters to describe FNC's reaction. But is is accurate? This was the cabler's official response:

During Fox & Friends this morning, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel. And as with all commentators in the cable news arena, he is given the freedom to express his opinions.

I think Crooks & Liars nailed it back when the story first broke:

Make no mistake, the powers that be at Fox News couldn't care less about Beck's statement. If they did, Beck would have been suspended, or at the very least, reprimanded. This kind of outrageous propaganda permeates their network and they use it daily to hold on to their racist viewers.

The press ought to stop giving Fox News credit for something it never did; “distance” itself from Beck's “racist” smear.