(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
“I cannot believe it’s been 30 years. It feels like 30 days.”
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There are only a handful of Fox News on-air personalties who have been with the network for its entire run, starting on Oct. 7, 1996. Sean Hannity is one of them — and arguably the biggest of all. He was 34 years old when Fox News launched, and few people knew much about him at the time. He’d done local radio in Atlanta and the occasional CNN hit. But in the three decades since, he has become a media powerhouse — his rise, in many ways, mirroring that of the network which gave him his biggest break.
For the first 13 years, Hannity had a liberal partner — the late Alan Colmes. And for the past 17, he’s been a solo act. And through all that time, he’s been at or near the top of the ratings. And his influence over the course of three decades has been nothing short of seismic.
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And it likely will continue to be. Because instead of slowing down, Hannity — who also hosts a three-hour nationally syndicated radio show — has actually added to his workload, recently launching the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast.
Last Friday, Mediaite had the opportunity to speak with Hannity ahead of the network’s anniversary. The primetime host took a walk down memory lane, and also looked ahead to the future. And he also addressed the recent attacks against the network by President Donald Trump.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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MEDIAITE: You’re sitting in the chair, Oct. 7th, 1996, next to Alan Colmes.
SEAN HANNITY: Scared to death. I was scared to death. But I never realized — first of all, I think the Fox News channel, I think you will probably agree with me on this, is going to be studied in terms of any media class that is worth anything. I think it will be studied for the next century, I really do, because it’s so transformed media.
And to be a small part of it has been the greatest blessing in my life. And I’m so grateful for all of that. And, you know, there’s something when you hit a big anniversary in your life, and I really wasn’t expecting this, it kind of causes you to stop and to pause and to get out of your day-to-day grind.
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Because I have a very busy schedule every day. I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, well, today I’m very successful.’ That’s never gone through my head once at all. I finish one day and I’m on to the next day. That’s the end of it. And I’m trying to do the best shows that I can do and I feel blessed to be able to do it.
I think that the real secret of life for people — and I talk to a lot of young people they ask me about my life, my career and ask for career advice. And my advice is always the same. Find something you love to do and then you’re really not going to work every day.
I would be reading as much as I read every day now anyway because that’s where my interest level lies and I’d be paying enough attention to it. The only difference is I’d driving around in a car and I would do a talk show for myself and people at a red light would look over and see me talking to myself and think I’m crazy.
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You talk about the cultural impact of Fox and that it will be studied. Did you envision that when you sat down that first night? Did you think there was any way that was going to happen — that it was going be this media juggernaut that it became?
Not at all. I mean, in the beginning, I think I was just trying to survive. I knew that most of the on-air talent had a lot more experience on TV than I did. I had been in radio for a while. I had a lot of radio experience. I did have TV experience, but not hosting a full-time show like that.
And I think in the beginning, I was really mostly in survival mode. And I just wanted to get better. I knew I wasn’t good at it in the beginning. I remember at some point being in a meeting, and maybe it was [former Fox News CEO] Roger [Ailes]. And I said, ‘Why didn’t you fire me? I was awful.’ And he chuckled, and he laughed, and he goes, ‘You know, when we first were on the air, nobody was watching, number one. And number two, I saw in you a broadcaster, and I knew that you’d get it.’
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And I think it’s harder to do that today, I think, coming from the outside and not having a lot of experience hosting. Now, I did host a show in Huntsville, Alabama from, I think, 91 and 92. It was a once-a-week debate show. When I was a local radio host in Atlanta, CNN was — believe it or not, fake news CNN — they would use me a lot. And I finished my radio show, I was doing 9 to noon, I would go over CNN headquarters, I’d do whatever show I was doing that day. uh… At some point I’d caught Roger’s eye. He was running CNBC and America’s Talking. And he had a show on Saturday night called Talk Live, and he let me host that a couple of times. And he saw something in me that I can promise you — because TV was never part of my equation — something I didn’t see in myself. And he said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t sign another contract until you talk to me.’ And those are words I’ll never forget. And sure enough, Hannity and Colmes went on the air.
When did you realize — you, the network, or both — that you caught lightning in a bottle and that you were onto something and that what you were doing was connecting?
It wasn’t long thereafter. What was it, ’98 that Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky happened? That 9/11 happened? The 2000 election.
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I remember being attacked for wearing a flag pin on my suit jacket. And that was a defining moment for me. I remember back at the time and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m proud of my country. I love America and I want America to be its best.’ I think the way to do that, you know, obviously I get political pins and, and I am proud from that day forward. I wasn’t going to not wear a pin again. I was like, you now have caused me to want to wear it more.
But I am proud of my country. I love this country. I love our Constitution. And I believe that I’ve been blessed beyond measure. I’m a true believer in the American dream. I’m true believer in meritocracy, a true believer in liberty and freedom and limited government. A believer in natural rights, that our rights are God-given. And governments instituted by men to ensure those God-given rights. So these are just principles that have always guided me.
I think maybe one thing that has distinguished me from other people on the air is I do have a guiding philosophy that drives my commentary. And some people say, ‘Well, you know, Hannity holds the line.’ I hold the line on my principles. I hold line on deeply held beliefs. And that just has never left me or changed. If anything, I think time has proven to me that these are time-tested principles that work. And the more that I study and the more that I read the more that I learn.
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I realize that we live in the single greatest best country God gave man with the the greatest single best a system of governance as imperfect at times as it can be that has ever been designed for man. And you know, I thought a lot about that during America’s 250th. And I just want to be a voice — a spoke in the wheel, if you will — in espousing those beliefs.
And obviously people that watch the show or listen to my radio show or now watch my new podcast, you know, there is an audience for that. I think Fox early on identified that there was a significant portion of the population that was being underserved. And just to allow my one conservative voice to be on the air made Fox different than every other network. Because they didn’t have conservative commentators, they just didn’t.
Back then, I think the networks were not as bad as they are now. Back in the day, I was friends with Peter Jennings. I was friends with Tom Brokaw. I got along with those guys. I was friends with Tim Russert. Tim Russert, I went on the road with him and James Carville, and he’d moderate debates between the two of us and we had a great time.
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And there were times Tim Russert would call me and ask, tell me why you believe what you just said. Explain that to me. I want to understand why you think that way. He was curious. And you can see that I think that’s why he was probably the best Sunday host ever in the history of Sunday programming.
David Brinkley would allow other people to have voices on his show that he did not agree with. It was just a different era. Peter Jennings. These guys would come into my radio studio, my TV studio, they’d come on the show. Like, I love Tom Brokaw’s book about the greatest generation. It was great. I think he had a deep appreciation and love of the country that I don’t see. I just don’t that level of depth that those guys had. They were a great generation unto themselves.
Here’s the thing: Everybody you just mentioned, Jennings, Brokaw, Russert, they were all on the air in the first half of your tenure at Fox back when you had a Democratic co-host. And so isn’t it fair to put some of that on you? The idea that we don’t get out of the bubble anymore, we don’t talk to the people on the other side? Because yes, you still have progressives on your show, no question. But you don’t have them in every segment as you used to. You don’t have them all the time. So you’re bemoaning this bygone era, but that is an era you have helped ushered in, no?
I don’t look at myself, or what role I might play. I’ll let others make that choice, you can make that analysis yourself and and come to your own conclusion on that. But I do believe there is a significant portion of the American population — if we’re a 50-50 country, I think you can argue we probably are — then half the country would like to watch a show like mine, potentially, if I do a good show.
And then there are other people that I know for a fact — and all I need to do is look at comments on Mediaite, on an article about what a horrible human being I am, and I’ve seen a couple of those over the years, or how wrong I am. And the comments will be vicious. But I’m going to tell you something. Isn’t it great we live in a free country that allows that? I tend not to read comments or commentary from people that don’t like me or hate my guts. You know why? Because I make my living with free speech. That’s how I earn my living. And why would I deny anyone else the same opportunity when I’m making my living that way?
Look, if you don’t see that there is a bias at networks and a bias on other cable news channels, then I don’t know what you’re looking at. I’ll tell you this, I’ve said this often, once you see media bias, you cannot start unseeing it. Once your eyes are open to it, it is so transparent, it’s so obvious.
And one of my biggest complaints with other people in the media is is when they claim that they are journalists. They’re not journalists. They’re talk show hosts just like Sean Hannity — except with a different perspective. You know, I watch these people on fake news CNN, or George Stephanopoulos, or MSDNC. I watch those people occasionally — very rarely. I’ve got their act down perfectly, I don’t have any interest in watching them. And they will claim to the cows come home that they are journalists. They’re not. They are biased in their reporting. They give commentary. Are they members of the press? Yeah, well, I’m a member of the Press.
But I describe what I do very simply. I can produce thousands of hours of me on Fox reporting straight news. When a big news event happens, I will cover it as straight news coverage. We do local news, local stories, national news. We do international news. We also have an editorial page. I’m upfront about my political opinions. I am a conservative. But I tell my audience the truth. There’s no surprise, there’s no ambiguity. I don’t call myself a journalist. I do not pretend to be objective. I say that I am conservative. But I also do culture, I do sports. So I would say my role in the press is I view myself as the entirety of a newspaper.
Now let me ask you a question: Do you think every anchor on CNN is a journalist or are they liberal talk show hosts?
Every anchor? I would make distinctions.
Whatever names are in your head, do they claim to be journalists?
In most cases, yes.
The only known conservative on CNN is Scott Jennings, that I’m aware of, and he doesn’t even host.
So, I guess what you’re saying is that the balance that once existed on your show every night, 30 years ago. But now you’re providing the counterbalance because the landscape has shifted. You reacted to the landscape, in other words, rather than the you helping to shift it?
I think it was part of a natural evolution, the fact that a network can exist and allow a show like mine to exist. I think it’s healthy and good for America. And I would say the one distinction — and audiences are very smart, they’re very sophisticated — I have to earn their viewership every single night. I think they appreciate when you are upfront and honest with them. Nobody can say that I’m claiming to be something that I am not. I’m not telling America that I’m a journalist, I’m telling America I’m a member of the press, and I’m like an entire newspaper and I have an editorial page and I have an op-ed page, because I will put opposing views on as well.
I know that’s that’s a line you’ve been fond of over the years.
You don’t like the line that I’m fond of over the years. Because it’s true. I think they’re full of shit. How do you like that? ‘Cause I can say that on my podcast. So I think the line to their audiences when they claim to be journalists and they’re not, I think that’s a big deal. I think when they who claim to be something they’re not instead of just being frank and upfront with their audience, I think they’re doing a disservice to their audience. I think one of the most important parts of any relationship is you gotta have total honesty with people.
You’re very fond of the network. I know that it’s given you a ton, and you’ve given it a ton.
It has changed my life completely. The entire trajectory of my life has changed because of Fox. I just celebrated my 25th year in radio syndication — and I’ve been on radio longer than 30 years — but 25 years in syndication and now my 30th year in Fox. The one thing I can tell you is I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest. It has it has caused me to kind of go inward a little bit. I’ve become reflective, I’ve become introspective. And if I’m to give you one word to describe how I feel, I feel extraordinarily blessed. I’ll give you a couple of words; blessed, grateful, humbled by the fact that that people have supported me and enabled me to do that which I love every day, and continue to come back the next day.
And I know this is not this is not an anniversary most people in media will ever experience. And that is not lost on me. And you know, the interesting part of it is, I work harder and I love it more than I ever did before. And maybe that doesn’t make sense to people, but it’s simply the truth. Why would I add a podcast to my busy schedule except that I love what I do.
So, given your pride and your fondness for the network, which is obvious and deserved, how do you feel when you see the President of the United States attacking it as he regularly does?
I kind of have two relationships with the president. I have a great personal relationship that predates my time at Fox and then I have the professional relationship with him where I cover him, I interview him. I think most people interview him in the wrong way. That’s another pet peeve of mine but that’s another story for another day.
President Trump, I think he’s very misunderstood. He’s somebody that doesn’t have a filter. He’s going to say what’s on his mind. I think that’s what makes him the driving overwhelming force that he is. A better question might be is what is the rest of the media going to do when he’s not in office anymore? It’s almost like they wake up every day, they look for something that Donald Trump says or does, and they bubble and fizz like Alka-Seltzer and water, and they have their one Trump outrage of the day, and that’s gonna drive them throughout whatever shift they have to go through. He lives rent-free in the minds of more media people than any one single human being on Earth. And a lot of times I feel like they don’t know the person that I know, and I don’t even think they really want to understand who he is, and why he’s doing the things that he’s doing.
You know, I can run off a list of things that are successful that nobody ever talks about. And I think he’s a driving force that we can learn a lot from. And maybe you don’t like the way he does it. Maybe you don’t like the way he says things, but at least you’re getting refreshing honesty.
But for Trump to come out Wednesday and say “real patriots will never like Fox” how does that make you feel?
I just look at it as a throwaway comment at a moment that he probably saw a segment that he didn’t like. It’s really that simple for me. How do you juxtapose that to last night, he mentions me, Jesse [Watters], Laura [Ingraham], [Greg] Gutfeld in his speech that he gave in Oklahoma Juxtapose that comment to the comment made last night.
And the comments he’s made regularly. It’s not just a one-off. He’s said it over and over and again.
Well, he’s praised a lot of us over and over again. Do I think he wants more positive coverage? Yeah. I mean, look, we have had net migration into the country for the first time in, I think, 100 years. We have the lowest murder rate or have the lowest murder rate in 2025, and it’s gone even lower in 2026. The largest tax cuts in American history, the most energy ever produced in history. The president has shown law and order, safety, security, works in Washington, D.C., in Memphis, and New Orleans.
And we have a party now that’s talking about abolishing prisons and abolishing police and getting rid of bail laws, eliminating the Senate, eliminating our ability to choose the president wanting to pack the courts. Amnesty for everybody, they want a cradle to grave wound to the tomb socialist country and the DSA has it right up there on their website and that is the dominant intellectual force driving the democratic party. So there’s a lot at play, and there’s a lot at stake, and you know I think right now being 30 what two days out of an election you know everybody wants the best coverage they can get.
Give me a story from behind the scenes — something that people don’t know about — from the early days or from whenever, that you’d think best captures Fox and what it is and what it has become.
OK, I’ll give you one — and I’ve talked about it maybe once or twice on the air. I did not know it at the time, and I’m not going to tell you who was in the meeting, but I found out about it a couple of years later. The network was meeting with then-candidate Barack Obama, and early in that meeting it came up that he said ‘Why should I do your network when you have a guy on the air every day that’s calling me a terrorist?” Well, he was talking about me. First of all I never called him a terrorist.I said he was palling around with the likes of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn. We know their history. And of course, Jeremiah Wright. And to the credit of this network, without ever asking me to change, they said, no. One individual defended me and said, no, ‘I watch the show every night. He said that you’re associated with these two people. Are you not? Is that not true?’ He got up and apparently walked out of the room, and that was the end of the meeting.
Now, they could have come to me and say, hey, tone down your coverage of what you’re saying, which was the truth. I was not lying. And they didn’t. And they have always allowed me to be me. And you know, when i think back at a moment like that where, OK, now we’re talking about access to somebody has a very strong potential of being president for them to be willing to let a meeting disintegrate and allow me to continue to do the work that I was doing and be who I am, I think is very telling. I’ve never really highlighted that story, but it is a true story. What other story do you want?
Maybe something that highlights the interpersonal dynamic, with producers or staff. Something with the crew. You’re remote now, so it’s a little different, but when you were in the newsroom for 18 years.
Honestly, I don’t want this to sound cliche or anything. Again, I’m a little more reflective right now. You’re catching me in a very introspective part of my life. And I have a lot going on in my life and I just have, you know, when I think of all of the people that I have interacted with, that I work with. All the way from PAs on my show, and production people on my show, and my top producers on my show All the way through up to, you know, Suzanne Scott, Mr. [Rupert] Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch. I’ve always been allowed to be who I am, and for that, I can’t tell you the degree of gratitude I feel for that. Because I don’t believe that’s the case for everybody in media, but it’s always been the case with me.
I am so grateful for my career decisions and that they have allowed me to continue doing what I love to do every day and hopefully continue to do for many many years to come. I’m not going anywhere for a long time.
That was my next question. Are we going to see you around for the 40th anniversary?
All I know is I get up every day, I wish I could take a picture and show you what’s in front of me. I have a stack of papers I’ve been going through, you know, for the last hour and a half. And, you know I have hard newspapers, you can get the New York Post down in Florida. I still like to read the print edition, the Wall Street Journal, the print edition. And I don’t know, I get every morning, I can’t imagine not doing this for the rest of my life. It doesn’t feel like work for me. I do it because I care about, I love to do it and I care about our country. I think there’s a lot at stake and I’m going to stay in the fight as long as people will have me around.
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