Bonus: The Sean Hannity Show - Neil Boortz and Sean Hannity Remember When

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Verdict with Ted Cruz

Bonus: The Sean Hannity Show – Neil Boortz and Sean Hannity Remember When
Date: November 15, 2025
Participants: Sean Hannity (Host), Neil Boortz (Legendary Radio Host), Eric "Sluggo" Seidel (Radio Executive)

Overview

This special episode is a nostalgia-rich, behind-the-scenes conversation reflecting on the “radio wars” of the 1990s between two Atlanta talk radio titans: Sean Hannity and Neil Boortz, along with their former boss, Eric "Sluggo" Seidel. The trio share stories about radio competition, lessons learned, their evolving careers, and the enduring friendships that arose from their fierce rivalry. For aspiring broadcasters or political radio fans, this episode provides a candid look at the realities and culture of local talk radio during its heyday.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Roots of the Radio Rivalry

• Background: Hannity recounts how, early in his career, he was hired as a radio host in Atlanta—a market dominated by Neil Boortz, who was already a local legend.
• Initial Clash: Hannity's entry into the market wasn't smooth. Boortz manipulated schedules to regain his key time slot, out-maneuvering Hannity and forcing him to adapt quickly.
  • Hannity (06:03): “He [Boortz] was gonna get a 15 minute jump on me. I'm going back to my old time slot and I'm taking my audience back… It was the worst vacation of my life, worst week of my life. And that began a series of radio wars.”
• Respect Amid Competition: Eventually, rivalry evolved into mutual respect and friendship.
  • Hannity (07:28): “The irony of all of this is we became really close friends.”
• Early Morning Preparation: Boortz’s formidable work ethic pushed Hannity to arrive at work earlier—sometimes by hours—to keep up.
  • Boortz (09:38): “I usually got there about 4, 4:30 in the morning.”
  • Hannity (09:41): “I realized I'm never going to be late again… I was there at 5 o' clock every day [after that].”

2. Radio Instincts, Schemes, & Antics

• Pranking and Outwitting: Both camps engaged in playful sabotage—leaking stories to each other, feeding topics, and stealing guests.
  • Hannity (12:32): “Did you know we used to feed you purposely stories so that you would talk about the same topics every day, because the research showed people got bored when you talked about it?”
  • Memorable Moment: The contest over Bob Shapiro as a guest, where Hannity managed to snag him just before Boortz’s show.
    • Boortz (13:23): “I wouldn't put him [Shapiro] on.”
• Coldest Origin Story: Boortz’s path to radio began after the local host he admired tragically died; he simply showed up the next day and claimed the time slot.
  • Boortz (14:38): “I wonder who's going to do the show tomorrow. So I got a lawn chair and a thermos of coffee and I went and sat on the sidewalk outside the radio station… And I said, oh, you haven't heard. Herb is not going to come in today.”
  • Boortz (15:46): “Yeah, I didn't jump on the grave. I dug him up and jumped on him.”

3. How Research Shaped Their Shows

• Hannity’s Wakeup Call: Hannity recalls being told to adjust his New York abrasive style in the Deep South, a lesson only fully absorbed after reading audience research himself.
  • Seidel (24:12): “You were perfect politically… but you still had that edge of a New Yorker in you.”
  • Hannity (25:56): “That woke me up. Yeah, that. That's what changed me on a dime. Yeah, I changed from that day moving forward.”
• Boortz’s Independence: Unlike Hannity, Boortz claims he didn’t listen to other talk show hosts or much research, wishing to keep his unique style intact.
  • Boortz (27:12): “I never listened to anybody else on talk radio… I didn't want them to affect the way I did my job.”

4. Rivalry Tactics: Banishment and Promotion

• Radio “Wars”: An ongoing battle for airtime, listeners, and guests. “Sluggo” would even distribute tapes of shows across the country to lure Hannity away from the Atlanta market as a competitive strategy.
  • Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel (29:28): “That's standard procedure. Yeah.”
  • Seidel (29:34): “I want your ass out of this market.” (on trying to move competitors away)

5. Chemistry, Camaraderie, & the ‘Show Family’

• Teamwork: Boortz credits his strong on-air chemistry with his team for their successes and acknowledges the personal friendships that outlasted competition.
  • Boortz (30:50): “It just came natural to all of us. It really did. Belinda and I are still very close.”
• Lasting Lessons: Hannity says absorbing honest audience feedback is key to growth and longevity in talk radio.

6. Talk Radio, 9/11, & Philosophical Shifts

• After 9/11: The attacks changed Boortz’s perspective on the seriousness and responsibility of talk radio.
  • Hannity (32:49): “You said to me you were right, I was wrong, and you weren't saying it in a way that was negative at all. You were saying, this is real, this is serious. And I am looking at my job entirely differently now.”
  • Boortz (33:05): “I’ve always thought that a talk show host is first and foremost an enter[ainer]… But after 9/11 … there’s just a lot more to it than fun and games. There’s very important information to be sent to the public...”

7. Talk Radio’s Broader Impact

• Influence on America: The trio emphasize the importance of talk radio—and later, Fox News—in providing a conservative counterpoint in the media landscape.
  • Hannity (33:49): “If it wasn't for talk radio, we wouldn't have had an alternative point of view in this country. If it wasn't for Fox News, we wouldn't have an alternative point of view in this country.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Competition:
  • Hannity (07:28): “We had a very, both were very competitive but we had respect. I think we had respect for each other. I certainly respected him. And if I didn't learn that I had to work harder, I don't think I'd be here today.”
• On Radio Ratings Bragging Rights:
  • Hannity (09:03): “Between the two of us we had 25% of the market in men 25–54… we both had a 12 and a half share each.”
• On Pranks:
  • Hannity (12:32): “We found ways to get that information to you, or we'd have somebody call in and set you off and then you'd go right down the predictable path.”
• On Paying Dues:
  • Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel (14:18): “You were the diamond in the rough, you know, look much like Moses and we plucked you out of the water and we gave you life.”
• On Evolving as a Host:
  • Hannity (24:12): “What I learned is the audience was dead on, honest and the audience was right. And I needed to read it in black and white and let it, absorb it and let it hit me in the face hard.”
• On Entertaining vs. Informing:
  • Boortz (33:05): “A talk show host is first and foremost an entertainer… There’s very important information to be sent to the public out there. Just try to do it in an entertaining way.”

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Key Timestamps for Segments

• [06:03] – Hannity recounts first radio war with Boortz over timeslots
• [09:41] – Boortz describes his 4:00 am prep and impact on Hannity’s work ethic
• [13:42] – Boortz tells the story of how he landed his first radio job in cold fashion
• [15:46] – Boortz jokes, “I dug him up and jumped on him.”
• [24:12–26:00] – Hannity and Sluggo unpack how market research forced a pivot in Hannity’s style
• [27:12] – Boortz on refusing to listen to other hosts to preserve his voice
• [33:05] – Boortz reflects on radio’s seriousness post-9/11
• [33:49] – Hannity underscores talk radio’s importance as a conservative platform

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Conclusion

This episode is a lively, affectionate inside look at competitive talk radio—its cutthroat side, but just as much its camaraderie, resilience, and the way both hosts and listeners shaped the voices of talk radio. For those curious about what goes on behind-the-mic, or fans of talk radio’s golden age, this reunion delivers both wisdom and laughs, all while illustrating how rivalry can produce both great radio and enduring friendships.

Transcript

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[Sean Hannity]

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[Sean Hannity]

Hey, right now you can stream FOX News Live on the FOX One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the FOX voices that you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else. Now start your seven day free trial. Today offers a subject to change. Just go to Fox one for complete terms and details. That's Fox one we live for live. It's streaming now. All right, News roundup and information Overload hour. Here's our toll free telephone number. If you want to be a part of the program. It's 800-941-Shawn if you want to join us. So we had Matt Towery joining us in Washington, D.C. yesterday. And by the way, we have part two of my interview with J.D. vance. We've gotten so much, so much feedback on him. Linda, did you see all the social media pickup on it? It was massive. Oh yeah, people were very excited about that segment. And Pam Bondi, we also had and I spent time with RFK Jr. And Dr. Oz and they'll join us tonight. Really, really productive day. I did other things that I can't talk about yet and as soon as I can, I will, and important things. And I'm actually headed back to D.C. i have another trip planned for reasons that I can't disclose either. Boy, I'm really sharing a lot with the audience today. But anyway, so we had our friend Matt Towery in studio and I was a local radio host in Huntsville, Alabama. And I got a call one day from Eric Seidel, better known as Sluggo on this program. Still friends with him to this day. Still friends with the owner of the radio station at the time when, when I worked in Huntsville. As a matter of fact, I'm friends with everybody I've ever worked for. It's crazy. And anyway, and I go to Atlanta, I audition for two days and I realize why I am auditioning because the star radio host in the market at the time for somewhat 30 years was a guy by the name of Neil Bortz. And he had jumped ship from Seidel station, the news monster, we called it back in the day to what he referred to affectionately as the ex wife to another station. And I got hired over, you know, after the two day audition, little did I know I was going up against a monster in the market. But it was originally not planned to be that. So I told this whole story yesterday. This is like old school, old fashioned, hardcore, deep in the paint, you know, radio war days. And, and I learned a lot from Neil and I have to give him credit because I'm better. As if, if I'm any good at Hawk Radio in part is because I would listen to Neil and I knew that my career was being threatened every day. Long story short, he initially went over to the news station and was going up against Russia 12 to 3. And then one day, my first day, I'm going on vacation, I'm driving to Hartsfield Airport and I turn on Neil and I listen to him tell me, Sean, I know you're listening to this program. And I'm like, how? And how the hell does this man know I'm listening to his program? And I was, and I listened the whole way and he's like, well your phone's about to ring and it's going to be Sluggo. And Sluggo is going to tell you to come back and not go on vacation. Because starting Monday morning I was on nine to noon at, at 8:45 he was going to get a 15 minute jump on me. I'm going back to my old time slot and I'm taking my audience back with me and I'm listening to this. I then arrive at Hartsfield, call Sluggo, say I'm coming back. He didn't have to call me, I called him. He would not allow me to come back. I didn't have, I had no power to fight him because I was still new, fresh to the market, and it was the worst vacation of my life, worst week of my life. And that began a series of radio wars. And then one day I'm driving into work, it's 6:15 in the morning and I tune into Neil's station just to see what they're talking about. At 6:15 not only was Neil there, he telegraphed his entire show. And he had read every newspaper, knew every news story. And I was just driving to work. I hadn't done any work yet. I was never ever late to work again. I was there at 5 o' clock every day and I would tune in and he would telegraph his show. Every day at 6:15 I'd take notes and if he was going to be talking about a topic, he didn't do many guests I did. I'd find the guests that he would be talking about at the beginning of his show. And you had a choice. You can hear the people directly or you could listen to Neil talk about the people that were in My studio. Anyway, so it was kind of a fun radio story. The irony of all of this is we became really close friends. Even, even, you know, I was only there four years but he swears he ran me out of town to the Fox News Channel. Kind of a joke, but we became really good friends. We'd even talk to each other in breaks. We had a very, both were very competitive but we had respect. I think we had respect for each other. I certainly respected him. And if I didn't learn that I had to work harder, I don't think I'd be here today. And it's a pleasure to welcome back my dear friend Neil Bortz. How are you?

[Neil Bortz]

I'm fine.

[Sean Hannity]

What, what, what part of that story is not true?

[Neil Bortz]

Well, no, it's all true. It's all true. I heard you were going.

[Sean Hannity]

How did you know? I was listening on my way on Vacuum. My first vacation ever since I had taken that job. Six months, six months into that job.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, wait a minute. We were in Atlanta and who wasn't listening to me?

[Sean Hannity]

Actually that's not true. If you go back and I have the history books, Arbitron used to do ratings in three month intervals. There were three books in a row, and I told this to Matt Towery yesterday where between the two of US we had 25% of the market in men. 2554, which for those that don't understand ratings, that is a massive number in, in the key demographic. And we both had, and it's almost impossible mathematically for it to work out this way. We had nine months in a row. We both had a 12 and a half share each.

[Neil Bortz]

So. But I think, I think actually it was higher than that.

[Sean Hannity]

It could have been. You know, that's the number I remember. I mean, I don't even know if I can go back and find those old books. But you did not know the story of that day that I tuned in and heard you at 6:15 in the morning. What time did you get to work every day? I never asked you that.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, I usually got there about 4, 4:30 in the morning.

[Sean Hannity]

Okay. So I realized I'm never going to be late again. And the interesting thing was you had read every newspaper. You were fully prepared to do your show at 6:15. What the heck did you do for the, for the next two hours? Two and a half hours?

[Neil Bortz]

I spent that time bothering other people at the radio station.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, I could tell stories. They're so bad, the stories about you and especially about Monica Kaufman that if I told them in this day and age. I know you dear friends with her, by the way.

[Neil Bortz]

Yeah, Monica and I get along just great, but, you know. Well, I messed with you a good deal, too, you know.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, yeah, you. You and everybody in the market. You couldn't stand the fact that I was younger and prettier than you.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, listen, who isn't? I'm the original radio. At that radio station you're mentioning on my ID card that I wore around the neck. They didn't put a picture of me, they put a picture of Homer Simpson.

[Sean Hannity]

That's absolutely, positively true. By the way, I have a special guest to say hello to you. The guy that hired me to replace you after you took the money and ran to the other station. Sluggo. Eric Seidel is with us. Sluggo, why did you not let me return? When I called you from Hartsfield Airport and Neil was gonna. Was moving from 12 to three back to his old time slot, I was furious at you.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Well, I'm calling today to let you know you can go on vacation now.

[Sean Hannity]

Okay. I really appreciate it, Sluggo. And you two, for a while, by the way, hated each other. I think I had to bridge that gap, didn't I?

[Neil Bortz]

Well, no, wait a minute. After I left. Neil.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Yeah?

[Neil Bortz]

Can't you hear me?

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Yes, I can hear you.

[Neil Bortz]

Okay. After I left, Sluggo sent a picture of you hammering nails into my coffin.

[Sean Hannity]

Since I remember that one, the final nail in your car, by the way. I did not approve of it. And there was one reading book and you had never been beaten and you're never going to admit it, I beat you. And you did win one demographic, like 65 and older and so Sluggo, in his genius and. And other people that we work with at the time decided to send you a gift package of like, denture cream and Depends and say, congratulations, you won the 65 plus demo.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Actually, I think that was Nancy's idea.

[Sean Hannity]

Probably. Was it Nancy or yours, Sluggo?

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

No, it was probably Nancy's.

[Sean Hannity]

Okay, well, we'll put it off on poor Nancy's entire. Now, this may sound inside baseball, but there's a lot of lessons to be learned here. Slugo. Did I even tell you about the first day that I was listening to Neil at 6:15 with Scott Slade? And I heard them and I. It put panic in my heart at how prepared he was and I realized I got to work harder, man.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Who was the attorney you based him on who was going to be coming into his show? From the.

[Neil Bortz]

From the.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, no. Well, that's. Well, it was right after the O.J. simpson case and Bob Shapiro, who's who to this day is still a dear friend of mine. I heard Neil telegraph that morning at 6:15 that he had Bob Shapiro on and Neil rarely had guests on. So I looked at Eric Steiger who still works with me and I said, what the hell? Why? Why does he have Neil, Bob Shapiro? Why didn't we book him? And anyway, he said, you know what? I think he's on 99 next. Let me call over. He called over. He was free at 9 o'. Clock. We got him before Neil did. And then when the hour was ending and he was supposed to go over to Neil's show, I said, would you mind staying a little bit longer? You know what happened from there. When he finally got over to your place around 11, told him to leave.

[Neil Bortz]

I wouldn't put him on.

[Sean Hannity]

I mean, we all became close and we all remain close. Although Bort says you never know where this guy is. He's got this big bus that he travels around in. I've tried to convince you numerous times to go back on the air full time. You won't listen to me. How many years were you on talk radio? How many years did you do talk radio?

[Neil Bortz]

47, man.

[Sean Hannity]

Unbelievable.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, wait a minute, 47. It was 37. 37 years.

[Sean Hannity]

Okay, now I think it would be better told by Sluggo. Sluggo, do you want to tell the world how cold hearted Neil is and how he got his first radio job at Ring Radio?

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

I'm not going to go into that. That's Neil's story to tell.

[Sean Hannity]

But.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

But I will tell you that I've always felt Neil had some of the best radio instincts of anybody I've ever worked.

[Sean Hannity]

That's why you paid him a lot more money than you paid me. You got me for like dirt cheap when you paid me and you hired.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Me, you were the diamond in the rough, you know, look much like Moses and we plucked you out of the water and we gave you life.

[Sean Hannity]

Okay, I really can't complain. All right, Neil, tell everybody how you started in talk radio. Because this is the coldest hearted story of all time. But it's actually brilliant.

[Neil Bortz]

On the other hand, well, it may be cold hearted, but somebody had to do it. I was a big fan of a talk show host on what they called at that time, Ring Radio. And I would go, whenever he made a speech, I was there. We would go to lunch together. Then one time I'm sitting at home on Sunday and I hear on the news that evening that this particular talk show host, his name was Herb Elfman, that he committed suicide. He shot himself dead right there. And so I said, well, I wonder who's going to do the show and tomorrow. So I got a lawn chair and a thermos of coffee and I went and sat on the sidewalk outside. The radio station waited. Everybody got there. The station was only on the air during daytime. And they said, what are you doing here? And I said, oh, you haven't heard. Herb is not going to come in today.

[Sean Hannity]

And so you basically jumped on the guy's grave and you got hired. And 37 years later, you know, you were still top rated host and one of the most well known personalities in Atlanta radio history. And then you became nationally syndicated as well.

[Neil Bortz]

Yeah, I didn't jump on the grave. I dug him up and jumped on him.

[Sean Hannity]

He did. Come on, Sluggo. That is cold. That is cold, cold, cold.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

It is. It is Neil's story to tell, not mine. But it is cold.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, man.

[Neil Bortz]

Also, so that's natural for me.

[Sean Hannity]

You know, we did other things to mess with you too. Did you know we used to feed you purposely stories so that you would talk about the same topics every day. If there was a gun topic, a plane topic, what else? What other stories did we always want Neil to talk about? Because the research showed that people got bored when he talked about it. Slug, there were a couple of other. We found ways to get that information to you, or we'd have somebody call in and set you off and then you'd go right down the. The predictable path. You know, we did that.

[Neil Bortz]

You also took some recordings of some uncomplimentary things I said about the owners of my new radio station.

[Sean Hannity]

And you said that you can blame Sluggo for that. I had no role in that.

[Neil Bortz]

You keep trying to absolve yourself of responsibility for those.

[Sean Hannity]

I did not have any role in that part. Sluggo, you have to defend me here.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Well, I remember some of the acronyms for WSB that he developed, like we.

[Sean Hannity]

Suck and blither and all the other. I'm still on the station, so I got to be nice here. But I think they'll find it amusing.

[Neil Bortz]

So boring that that was.

[Sean Hannity]

But at the time they were. Until you got there. And then Greg Mosheri. I'll tell you what, we'll pick it up a couple more minutes on the other side. If you guys have nothing to do. You're both retired, so I assume you have nothing to do. And I mean that. Complimentary. More with Neil Bortz, more The Seidel Sluggo on the other side, a little bit more of the radio war. Then we'll hunt the phones. 800941 Shawn is on number as we roll along, There's a reason I'm so proud of our partnership with Pure Talk. My wireless company, a veteran owned company, because they don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk when it comes to supporting our vets. It's a veteran owned company. This month Pure Talk is choosing to support Canines for Warriors. Now this is an incredible organization that rescues and trains dogs, pairs them with veterans that are struggling, for example with ptsd. Canines for warriors gives these heroes a purpose. It gives them companionship and healing. That's exactly why PureTalk, a veteran led company, supports them. Now choose a wireless company that shares your values. Remember, you're going to get talk and text and plenty of data. 25 bucks a month you get the exact same service as the big carriers. Same cell tower, same 5G network. Go to PureTalk.com Sean and PureTalk's US customer service team will have you switched in less than 10 minutes. Again, go to PureTalk.com Sean S E A N Make the switch today to America's wireless company, PureTalk.

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[Sean Hannity]

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[WealthBreak Host]

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[Sean Hannity]

Hey, right now you can stream Fox News live on the Fox one app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the Fox voices that you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else. Now start your seven day free trial. Today offers a subject to change. Just go to Fox one for complete terms and details. That's Fox one. We live for life. It's streaming now, so we're doing old radio war stories. And when I'd only been a professional radio host for two years, I had started in what, 87. And I guess I my first job was in 1990 in Huntsville, Alabama. Then I'm Eric Seidel, who's with us. Slugo, we call him, hired me in Atlanta and I went up against this, this unbelievable giant in the market, Neil Bortz. And I realized that if I didn't work hard, Neil Bortz was going to do to me what he did to so many others before me. And that's run them the hell out of town. And I was not going to let that happen or at least fight my hardest to do so. After about the first year in Slugo, this is a story for you to tell and it taught me Something about research. And you brought me in your office one day and you sat me down. Do you remember what you told me? Because I remember what I told.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Well, okay, first of all, let me give this some perspective. Neil worked for a company that was doing research every five seconds in the market. They were constantly aware of what was going on in the market. You and I were working for a company that didn't have those pockets as deep. And we. We did our first major research about a year after you came to the radio station. And before that research came in, we had been telling you, sean, this is not New York. You need to ease back on the callers. We're in the Deep South. And you weren't listening.

[Sean Hannity]

And by that, just to give perspective. I grew up listening to the likes of Bob Grant, you know, one of the great pioneers of talk radio, but also geniuses like Barry Farber and Barry Gray. But, hey, get off my phone, you scumbag. You low life. You dirtbag. Get off my phone.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

You know, that was not Farber's technique, but it certainly was Bob.

[Sean Hannity]

That was. That was Bob Grant, for sure. Bob Grant, you know, eventually got fired in part because he was so controversial.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

But anyway, so you came in, and I'm. Are you talking about after the research.

[Sean Hannity]

Came in or after the research came in? You didn't let me know you did research. I figured out you did research. But you sat me down in your office. Nancy Zentag was in the room.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Right.

[Sean Hannity]

And you leaned into me about this very issue that, you know, you grow. You grew up with one type of talk radio that you listen to, Right. And you now live in the South. And the bottom line was people love my conservative positions. It was the beginning of the rise of New Gingrich. But they didn't like, stylistically, that I was harsh on callers and that, you.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Know, that you were perfect politically. You were perfect for our demographic, for our target, but you still had that edge of a New Yorker in you. And I think I told. And you said, you've lost confidence in me. And I said, no.

[Sean Hannity]

That's what I said. Well, you do remember I did say that. I said in that meeting, I looked at you and I said, you lost confidence in me.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

No. And the fact is we had not. And if anything, we just wanted to help improve you, develop you more. And so the research, which you really weren't supposed to see until you stole it from somebody's office, I was curious.

[Sean Hannity]

I didn't steal it. I borrowed it. There's a difference. I returned it.

[Neil Bortz]

Okay? Okay.

[Sean Hannity]

That'S not stealing, it's borrowing. I didn't even. As a matter of fact, it never left Arnie Katinski's room because I read it one night overnight and I didn't stop reading it till I read to the very last page. And it was a thick book.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Yes. What, did you sit in his office and read it?

[Sean Hannity]

Yes, I did.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

My God, you were squatting too.

[Sean Hannity]

You're bad.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Anyway, you had seen the. One of the things that struck me really wrong was that the guy who analyzed the research said you should think about replacing Sean. There was no way.

[Sean Hannity]

Words were. You may want to rethink Sean Hannity at some point.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Okay. Okay. Well, either way, you and I both are.

[Sean Hannity]

I remember.

[Neil Bortz]

Okay.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

And you. But you read the transcripts of what people said to them. The verbatims. The verbatims said to them in the research.

[Neil Bortz]

And that.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

That rang a bell for you. You finally.

[Sean Hannity]

You know, that woke me up. Yeah, that. That's what changed me on a dime. Yeah, I changed from that day. Moving forward. Now, what I learned is they're called Perceptual Studies in Radio. Neil, you've read a ton of research over the years, or at least they've told you about it. I'm sure you could care less. You were going to do what you were going to do. You were a legend. I was not in that market, so I had to work harder. And it. What I learned is the audience was dead on, honest and the audience was right. And I needed to read it in black and white and let it, absorb it and let it hit me in the face hard.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Sean, dating, what we have been saying to you.

[Sean Hannity]

It did, but you didn't. We weren't saying it in a way that just screamed at me. It screamed off the page. Love is politics. He needs to stop hanging up on people and telling them to shut up.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Right, right. But you know, it was the same thing we were just telling you, maybe a little more graphically, but. But the fact is it was. It affirmed and validated what we have been saying to you. And you had to see that third party validation to really wake up.

[Sean Hannity]

It was the audience that woke me up. Neil, did you ever read research? A lot of hosts can't handle it.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, a couple of things, Sean. First of all, you listen to Bob Grant and the others. I never listened to anybody else on talk radio. I did listen to you when we were head to head competing. Other than that, I was never a Limbaugh listener. You know, I didn't want them to affect the Way I did my job, so I didn't listen to them.

[Sean Hannity]

I put that as a feather in my cap. If I. If I was in your head that much, that's a good thing.

[Neil Bortz]

You're the only one. But then remember, you and I would go to news breaks at the same time. We'd get on the phone and talk.

[Sean Hannity]

Yeah, we did. And you know, sometimes I would just wait for you to break before I take my break. And I've had my Eric Stanger monitoring when you went to a break.

[Neil Bortz]

Listen, we were having a great time. But now what you haven't told, and I want you to tell this story too, is that when I moved full time down to Florida, I had the best radio studio. You did your. It was a great radio studio.

[Sean Hannity]

It was phenomenal. And here's the beauty of it all. Neil and I became best friends while we were still competitors. I had deep respect for Neil Sluggo and I have remained friends ever since. I had to go to his house and say, is it okay if I take this opportunity and work at Fox News? At that point, nobody knew what national cable news really was but for cnn. And Eric was very supportive and said, if this is what you want to do, I support you. You were great. Not everybody was great, but you were great.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, I was jealous, but then.

[Sean Hannity]

I know you were, but you're full of crap. Cuz you went on the air and said, I drove Hannity.

[Neil Bortz]

Oh well, I mean, look at the ratings at that point.

[Sean Hannity]

You know, ratings at that point were fine. I was still kicking ass until you guys got the Braves back then. Then it started to hurt Pearl White ass.

[Neil Bortz]

No, you weren't.

[Sean Hannity]

I was still doing well in the marketplace. There's no doubt. I will tell you, I'm very grateful to both of you for very different reasons. Is. And the fact that we've all been able to stay friends all these years. There's one other little part of the story. Did you know that Greg Mosheri was sending out tapes of my show to stations around the country to get me job offers to get me away from you?

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

That's standard procedure. Yeah.

[Sean Hannity]

Yeah, it was standard procedure.

[Neil Bortz]

Let me.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Sean, let me tell you a little story. The first time I ran into that technique, that tactic, I was working in Philadelphia at a CBS radio station owned radio station in news. And I got a call from a competing news director on another station who I've never met. Have never met. And he said, I've given your name to a former boss of mine in Atlanta. He's looking for a News Direct. And I said, paul, we've never met. Why would you do that? And he said, and this caught me by surprise, he said, I want your ass out of this mike.

[Sean Hannity]

Wow, that's pretty blunt. I was shocked when Mosheri told me that. I was absolutely shocked. I want to say one last thing. Now, this is the most interesting part about Neil to me and slow go tell me if I'm right or wrong here. Neil is so dynamic on air. And by the way, when you had Belinda and Royal, God rest his soul, he was such a nice guy. And I don't think there was a better chemistry. Although Linda's close, he's crushing it for us. And when you had that team around you and your ability to use that team to enhance the show and create a family atmosphere that everybody wanted to be a part of, it was. It was very special for radio in my mind.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, it just came natural to all of us. It really did. Belinda and I are still very close. I can tell you that. Her dog had an ACL surgery this morning. That's how close we are.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, my gosh.

[Neil Bortz]

That was. So I asked her, how many ACLs does a dog have? And she didn't know.

[Sean Hannity]

I don't know either. Sluggo, you want to give it a shot? You love dogs.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Oh, I do, I do. We've been since 1999, we've been rescuing golden retrievers. And they're incredible, Just incredible.

[Sean Hannity]

Well, I just want to say to both of you, I'm very grateful to both of you. Sluggo, you took a chance on me. You were patient with me. I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. I got a big, big wake up call. And ever since that day, I will periodically make sure that I read the audience comments about me. Not online, because online is not a real world. You have people naked in their parents basement. Anonymous keyboard warriors. They don't concern me. But research projects look for real listeners. They give you real, honest feedback, and if you listen to it, it will make you better at what you do. When you go up against somebody as talented and gifted as Neil. And I think in the history of talk radio, one of the best talk show hosts ever. It's either you get better or you're done. It's that simple. You will not survive.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, Sean, I just thank God every day that I didn't have to make a living being a lawyer.

[Sean Hannity]

You remember what you said to me after 9? 11?

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

What?

[Sean Hannity]

Remember a conversation we had and you had always said, I'm on the Air. For kicks and giggles. I don't take myself seriously. None of this is serious. And you said, hannity, you believe all this and you're more serious than I am. And I said, you're right. And then after 9 11. Do you. You don't remember what you said to me?

[Neil Bortz]

I don't.

[Sean Hannity]

You said to me you were right, I was wrong, and you weren't saying it in a way that was negative at all. You were saying, this is real, this is serious. And I am. I am looking at my job entirely differently now.

[Neil Bortz]

Well, I mean, that woke up a lot of people. I've always thought that a talk show host is first and foremost an enter and we're not there to change the world. But then later on, after 911 and the various ethnic invasions we've had of this country, Minnesota, it occurs to me that there's just a lot more to it than fun and games. There's very important information to be sent to the public out there. Just try to do it in an entertaining way to keep them listening and hopefully make a difference along the line, you know? Now the difference I want to make is the water level in the hot tub when I'm sitting in it in the evening.

[Sean Hannity]

Oh, my gosh. I will tell you this. I'm going to end with this. If it wasn't for the. For talk radio. And then, of course, Rush took it to a whole new level, and we're all grateful to him for that and we all miss him dearly. If it wasn't for talk radio, we wouldn't have had an alternative point of view in this country. If it wasn't for Fox News, we wouldn't have an alternative point of view in this country. The fact that I've been blessed to do both in my life and career and have people like you make me better in different ways. I'm just grateful to both of you. You're both very good men. Dear friends, Bill Donovan in Alabama also gave me a shot. They hired me over the phone there, and I had no experience doing radio full time. I got lucky. He hired me. So I just want to say thanks to both of you, and it's kind of fun to rehash some crazy radio days. Man, they were crazy.

[Eric 'Sluggo' Seidel]

Yeah, Sean, they were fun days, too.

[Neil Bortz]

The world better off because you fell off that roof.

[Sean Hannity]

Yeah, I fell off the roof. Neil hit the ground and woke up a conservative. It was all good.

[Neil Bortz]

Yeah, I know it.

[Sean Hannity]

All right. God bless you both, you both amazing people and dear friends. Neil Bortz, Eric's logo Seidel. Thank you both. I just want to wrap things up for today. Let not your heart be troubled. HANNITY Tonight, 9 Eastern on the Fox News Channel Part 2. It's really interesting, my interview with J.D. vance, the Vice President. Also while in D.C. i spend time with RFK Jr. And Dr. Mehmet Oz. We'll get that in. We have a lot on the nuttiness and insanity of the radical left. They are cracking up and it's getting worse by the day. And the news you'll never get from the mainstream media mob. 9 Eastern tonight, Hannity, Fox. We'll see you then back here tomorrow. Thank you for making this show possible.

[Rodney Williams]

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[Sean Hannity]

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[Sean Hannity]

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[Sean Hannity]

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