Everything about Sean Hannity totally explained
Sean Hannity is an
American radio/television host, author, and
conservative political commentator. He first gained national recognition as co-host of
Fox News Channel's
Hannity & Colmes. In addition to that show, he currently hosts the radio show,
The Sean Hannity Show, as well as another show on
Fox News Channel;
Hannity's America. He is also the author of two
New York Times bestselling books.
Early life
Hannity is the son of Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents emigrated from
Ireland. He has two sisters, Joanne S. Hannity and Therese Grisham (Hannity). He grew up in
Franklin Square,
New York. During the late 1980s, Hannity worked in construction in
Santa Barbara,
California, and also as a
bartender. He has lived in
Roswell,
Georgia;
Athens,
Alabama;
Lloyd Harbor,
New York; and Santa Barbara, California. He married Jill Rhodes, a columnist for
The Huntsville Times, on
January 9,
1993. They have two children.
Education
Hannity graduated high school in 1980 from
St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in
Uniondale in
Long Island,
New York. Described as "an indifferent student", Hannity dropped out of
New York University and another college numerous times for lack of funds, and later decided to pursue a radio career.
Professional life
Sean Hannity is currently a nationally syndicated radio talk show host broadcasting from
flagship station WABC (AM) in
New York City, co-host of
Hannity & Colmes, a Fox News political debate program, and host of
Hannity's America, also on Fox News.
Hannity hosted his first talk radio show in 1989 at the volunteer college station at
UC Santa Barbara,
KCSB-FM, while working as a general contractor The show aired for 40 hours of air time; Hannity has since called the show "terrible". Hannity's weekly show was canceled after less than a year when KCSB management charged him with "discriminating against
gays and
lesbians" after two shows featuring the book
The AIDS Coverup: The Real and Alarming Facts about AIDS by Gene Antonio. The station reversed its decision to dismiss Hannity due in part to a campaign conducted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union. Hannity decided against returning to KCSB.
After leaving KCSB, Hannity placed an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America," and
WVNN in
Athens,
Alabama (part of the
Huntsville market) hired him to be the afternoon talk show host.
Hannity's radio and television shows draw praise from conservative politicians: "He has a great personality, and the tone counts for a lot," said
Texas Sen.
John Cornyn. "He's willing to ask questions and challenge the assumptions that many in the mainstream news media are not." He also has been vocally critical of and has drawn criticism from
progressive and
liberal groups such as
Media Matters for America.
In 2005,
Fortune magazine included Hannity in the article 25 People We Envy Most (Lucky Hall of Fame Getting Paid to Mouth Off) saying, "It's every blowhard's dream: getting paid to preach to the choir. For four hours a day Hannity fills the airwaves with his sure-fire formula: If you agree with his conservative worldview, you're deemed a "great American." If you don't, you're a pusillanimous blame-America-firster, who might as well pledge allegiance to France. Armed with a classic talk-radio voice, Hannity reportedly makes $5 million a year for the radio show, and undoubtedly more from Fox. Plus he's written two bestsellers and draws legions of fans to his national tours."
Conservative
Cal Thomas and liberal
Bob Beckel, in their book
Common Ground, describe Hannity as a leader of the pack among broadcasting
political polarizers, which following
James Q. Wilson they define as those who have "an intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another, rival group."
Television
Hannity is a host of
Hannity & Colmes, an American political "point-counterpoint"-style television program on the
Fox News Channel featuring Hannity and
Alan Colmes as co-hosts. Hannity presents the conservative point of view with Colmes providing the liberal viewpoint. Hannity has had on air clashes with show guests such as
Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer of
Human Life International, who challenged Hannity on his public dissent from the
Catholic Church on the issue of
contraception. Hannity has stated that if the Catholic Church were to
excommunicate him over the issue, he'd join
Jerry Falwell's
Thomas Road Baptist Church, the church associated with
Liberty University, who awarded Hannity his honorary
bachelor degree.
In
January 2007, Hannity began a new Sunday night television show on Fox News,
Hannity's America.
Radio
Hannity's radio program is a conservative political talk show that features Hannity's opinions and ideology related to current issues and politicians.
The Sean Hannity Show began national syndication on
September 10,
2001 on over 500 stations nationwide. As of spring 2006, the program is heard by over 12.5 million listeners a week. In 2004, Hannity signed a $25 million five-year contract extension with
ABC Radio to continue the show through 2009. The program was made available via
Armed Forces Radio Network in 2006. In
June 2007, ABC Radio and Radio Networks was sold to
Citadel Communications.
In January 2007
Clear Channel Communications signed a groupwide three-year extension with Hannity on over 80 stations. The largest stations in the group deal included
KTRH Houston,
KFYI Phoenix,
WPGB Pittsburgh,
WKRC Cincinnati,
WOOD-AM
Grand Rapids,
WFLA Tampa,
WOAI San Antonio,
WLAC Nashville,
WREC Memphis and
WBAP Fort Worth/Dallas.
The opening theme music for the Sean Hannity show is "The Way It Is" by
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Books
Hannity is the author of two books, and published through
ReganBooks. Both books reached the
nonfiction bestseller list, his second quickly to number one and for five consecutive weeks. Hannity has stated that he's too busy to read many books, and dictated a lot of his own two books into a tape recorder while driving in to do his radio show.
Frank Rich, an opinion columnist for the
New York Times has criticized Hannity for using the
American flag on his book covers, saying that the imagery is used "as a merchandising tool" for "self-aggrandizingly patriotic screeds."
Freedom Concerts
Hannity has hosted
country music-themed Freedom Concerts since 2003, billed to help benefit the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, a charity created by
Oliver North to provide college scholarships to children with a parent severely disabled or killed in military action. Appearing artists have included
Sara Evans,
Martina McBride,
Lee Greenwood,
LeAnn Rimes,
Montgomery Gentry,
Darryl Worley,
Charlie Daniels,
Larry the Cable Guy, and
Michael W. Smith.
The Freedom Concerts were held annually in the Northern Star Arena at the
Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park in
Jackson,
New Jersey through 2006. In 2007, the annual concert was expanded to a summer series held at locations across the
United States, culminating with the September 11 event at Great Adventure marking the sixth anniversary of the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
Speakers at the Sept 11, 2007 concert included
Oliver North,
Newt Gingrich,
Republican Presidential candidate
Rudy Giuliani and several conservative talk show hosts from WABC Radio.
Hannidate
Hannity's internet dating service, called "Hannidate," matches conservative or Republican-leaning singles,
straight and
gay. Begun in 2005, it's described as a "place where people of like conservative minds can come together to meet."
Bibliography
- Hannity, Sean (2002)., ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-051455-8.
- Hannity, Sean (2004)., ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-058251-0.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sean Hannity'.
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