Sean Hannity
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Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961, in New York City, New York) is an American conservative talk radio host, co-host of Fox News Channel's political debate program Hannity & Colmes, and the author of two books.
Overview
Hannity attended New York University but dropped out to pursue his radio career. He has also claimed several times on his radio show to have had financial difficulties that contributed to his dropping out. After placing an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America," WVNN in Huntsville, Alabama hired him to be the morning talk show host. From there, he was hired by WGST in Atlanta to fill the slot vacated by Neal Boortz, who had moved on to competing station WSB. Roger Ailes, founder of the Fox News Channel, took a chance on the relatively unknown Hannity, hiring him to co-host Hannity and Colmes with Alan Colmes.
Hannity moved to New York to do Hannity and Colmes and to host a local radio show on WABC. His radio program went nationally syndicated on September 10, 2001. It is aired from WABC in New York and is now heard on well over 400 stations nationwide. His program now boasts the second-largest radio audience in the country, heard by over 13 million listeners a week. He also hosts the annual Freedom Concert at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. This annual event aims to provide full college scholarships for all children of fallen U.S. military servicemen.
Hannity is known for his confrontational style with guests on his programs, and his conservative views. His critics accuse him of being rude to guests and serving as a megaphone for Republican talking points, as well as being untruthful. He sometimes does event performances across the United States where he claims he can "cure any person of their liberalism" in one sitting. This is a process he calls "Hannitization," although this is more of a slogan than a specific process; for example, his 2004 American tour was called the "Hannitization of America Tour." The documentary This Divided State (http://www.thisdividedstate.com) shows at least one instance where he has taunted the few liberals in the crowd, and singled out a liberal audience member to speak on stage so that the mostly conservative audience can jeer the liberal.
Hannity, who is of Irish descent (all four of his grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland), belongs to the Roman Catholic church. He is married with two children.
Books
- Deliver Us From Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism (Regan Books, 2004) ISBN 0060582510
- Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Against Liberalism (Regan Books, 2002) ISBN 0060514558
External links
- Sean Hannity's official website and web-blog (http://www.hannity.com/)
- MediaMatters.org articles on Hannity (negative) (http://mediamatters.org/archives/search.html?topic=Sean%20Hannity)
- Know Your Right-Wing Speakers: Sean Hannity (http://www.campusprogress.org/tools/195/)