From liberal bias to ‘fake news’: Sean Hannity’s election season media-bashing from 2012-2020

Accepted for presentation by AEJMC’s Political Communication Division  with William Newlin, Grady graduate student

Abstract: Fox News navigates Sean Hannity’s complicated status as a member of the news media by describing him as a political commentator and talk show host. His self-assigned role as media critic is of particular interest considering the intensity of his insults toward an ambiguously defined liberal, mainstream media alongside declining media trust among Republicans. This study examines Sean Hannity’s media-bashing around presidential elections from 2012-2020, analyzing his rhetoric as a form of meta-journalistic discourse turned political weapon.

Karin Assmann 

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