The conservative pundit Glenn Beck took the lectern at a conference center on Manhattan’s East Side last Thursday to accept the Freedom of Speech Award for his commentary on TheBlaze television network and his syndicated radio show.

The annual seminar hosted by the trade magazine Talkers is intended to discuss the leading issues affecting talk radio, from advertising to how to break through in a crowded field. But this year, the more than 55 speakers had a particular topic they wanted to discuss: the recent Justice Department investigation into media leaks.

“They’re doing some scary things in our country right now,” Mr. Beck told the crowd. “They were started by Republicans and they’re being furthered by the Democrats.”

The press — often the target of allegations of liberal bias by conservative media — has found an unlikely ally in right-leaning radio and television hosts who have taken to defending the First Amendment with a fire-and-brimstone zeal. (To drive home his point that anything goes when it comes to free speech, Mr. Beck waved the Koran and a napkin said to be stained with Hitler’s blood.)