THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media

“It is my job to point out hypocrisy,” says Hannity, 50, which sums up his work mission as much as it does his take on the ad boycott following Rush Limbaugh’s condemnation of Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke as a “slut” for her support of insurance-covered contraception. “Bill Maher, who gave a million dollars to Obama’s PAC, used the c-word about Gov. Palin,” says Hannity. “If there was real outrage, I’d expect the president to return the money to Maher. These sanctimonious liberals who act so indignant grow immediately silent. Isn’t that funny?”

PHOTOS: THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media

Hannity, who tapes his radio show near his home on Long Island and his TV show in Manhattan, can laugh. His show draws an average of 2.02 million viewers, including 456,000 in the core news demo of adults 25-to-54, handily beating MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and CNN’s Piers Morgan in the 9 p.m. slot and making him Fox News’ clear No. 2 to Bill O’Reilly. Hannity also is the only current cable-news personality who has remained in the same time slot, topping it for 39 months as of the end of March.

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Married for 19 years with two kids, Hannity says he is partial to movies like the Navy SEAL drama Act of Valor and TV shows like American Idol. “Sometimes,” he admits, “I watch six episodes in a row.”