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Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30 , 1961 , in New York City , New York ) is an American Conservative Talk Radio host and the co-host of Fox News Channel 's program '' Hannity & Colmes ''. EARLY LIFE & CAREER Hannity grew up in Franklin Square , New York . He is son of Hugh Hannity and a grandson of Irish immigrants to the United States , with his paternal grandparents emigrating from County Down and his mother's parents coming from County Cork . Hannity was educated in Catholic schools on Long Island . He worked in construction during the late 1980s in the Santa Barbara, California , area. KCSB Dismissal His first radio show was in the late 1980s as a volunteer broadcaster for the University Of California, Santa Barbara 's radio station, KCSB , although he was not a student at the university. {Link without Title} Hannity was dismissed from the station in to be contracted, and that Gay s "were a subculture of people engaged in deviant, twisted acts." Hannity appeared to endorse this view by adding, "Anyone listening to this show that believes Homosexuality is a normal lifestyle has been Brainwashed . It's very dangerous if we start accepting lower and lower forms of behavior as the normal." After hearing the commentary, another presenter at KCSB, who was a Lesbian , called into the show to voice her complaints. During the call, Hannity pointed out to the audience that the caller was a lesbian who had a child through In Vitro Fertilisation . Antonio then dubbed the caller's child a "turkey-baster baby," with Hannity continuing, "I feel sorry for your child." The station reversed its decision to remove Hannity, thanks in part to a campaign conducted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union . Hannity decided against returning to KCSB. He later wrote, "...It KCSB show didn't last long. I was too conservative, the higher-ups said, and they didn't like the comments one guest made on the show... The left-wing management had zero-tolerance for conservative points of view. And I was promptly fired." After KCSB Hannity placed an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America," and 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 . There, he asked for actors and actresses to wear light blue ribbons to the 1992 Academy Awards to support the police officers charged with beating Rodney King . After a few years at WGST, Roger Ailes picked him to be the conservative voice on '' Hannity & Colmes '', on the fledgling Fox News Channel . Soon he began hosting a radio show on a part-time basis for WABC-AM , and before long he was given the afternoon drive-time slot. On September 10, 2001, his show went national. Even before his national Syndication , Hannity achieved national prominence by frequent appearances on such shows as '' The O'Reilly Factor '', where he was a frequent and harsh critic of the Clinton Administration . PRESENT DAY Hannity is currently a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. He broadcasts out of WABC radio studios in Manhattan, NY. In addition, Hannity also co-hosts the Fox News political debate program, '' Hannity & Colmes ''. Radio Program Hannity's ABC Radio program began national syndication September 10 , 2001 . The show is aired from WABC in New York and is now heard on well over 500 stations nationwide. His program now boasts the second-largest radio audience in the country, heard by over 13 million listeners a week. The show was recently made available via Armed Forces Radio Network beginning 2006 . In 2004 , Hannity signed a $25 million 5-year contract extension with ABC Radio to continue the show through 2009 . In addition to numerous newsmaking guests, Hannity also does several segments with his former call screener and Associate Producer, Jill Vitale, better known as Flirty Flipper (named so for her infamous tatoo of a dolphin; she has her own website which can be reached via link from Hannity's). The most famous of these segments is her notorious "Man on The Street" segments, a routine originally developed by (but seldom credited to) Alan Colmes , where she corners everyday New Yorkers and tests their knowledge of everyday current events. Hannity is also famous for inviting guests who hold opposing views onto his show for "shoot outs" on a frequent basis. Some such guests have been Arianna Huffington , Jesse Jackson , Senator Ted Kennedy , Rosie O'Donnell , Mike Farrell , and Howard Dean . Regular guests have included Oliver North , Mark Levin , Dick Morris , Rudy Giuliani , George Will , Newt Gingrich , G. Gordon Liddy , and Ted Nugent . PHILANTHROPY The following items are taken from excerpts of Hannity's radio broadcasts:
CRITICISMS Many critics cite Hannity's strong support for U.S. actions in the Iran-Contra Affair . His interest in politics was inspired by the illegal funding of Terrorists in Nicaragua . The World Court finding in '' Nicaragua V. United States '' states that the CIA committed "terrorist acts" against Nicaragua, including the placement of explosive mines in Nicaraguan harbors. The Abner Louima Case Many, including FAIR , have highlighted Hannity's 1997 coverage of the Abner Louima case. {Link without Title} Louima alleged that severe internal injuries to his Intestines and Bladder were the result being Sodomized by NYPD officers. Hannity charged that Louima fabricated the abuse, frequently referring to him as "lying Louima". Hannity also arranged interviews with people who claimed that Louima had past sexual relations with men, and that the injuries were likely to be the result of a "gay sex act." Hannity's coverage of the case continued until the officers involved confessed to the crime. Officer Justin Volpe was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sodomizing Louima with a broomhandle and threatening his life. Fred Phelps Protests Hannity has been criticized for his chiding of Fred Phelps and his cronies on air to his listeners on Talk Radio when he claimed that liberal Anti-war protesters were heckling the families of fallen veterans at funeral processions. Hannity selectively quoted local newspapers to support the charge. The actual protesters were Anti-gay fundamentalists from the Westboro Baptist Church and led by Fred Phelps ; Phelps believes that God Hates America for its decadence. {Link without Title} A member of the church appeared on Hannity & Colmes in April 2006, where Hannity expressed his disgust at their statements and actions. Kosovo Hannity was a strong opponent of the Iraq war or the broader War On Terror as 'undermining the war effort and strengthening our enemies' for making similar arguments. Liberal groups charge that in light of his Kosovo comments, his criticisms are hypocritical. Fox News Neutrality Despite Hannity's previous claim that Fox News is "fair and balanced" and having defended it from accusations of being Republican Propaganda , Hannity appeared to slip on air in 2005 when he asked William F. Buckley Jr. if he was proud that conservatives had become dominant and created a "conservative media", including Talk Radio and Fox News . {Link without Title} HANNIDATE Since 2005, Hannity has run a dating service on his website, called "Hannidate", matching so-called "right-leaning" singles. According to the Hannidate website , the purpose of Hannidate is to create a "place where people of like conservative minds can come together to meet." BOOKS
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