Sean Hannity, Premiere Networks radio host and Fox News Channel talk show host, will be the recipient of the 2017 TALKERS Freedom of Speech Award.
The award, officially called The Gene Burns Memorial Award for Freedom of Speech, is the “longest-running and most prestigious honor” given each year to someone in the broadcast community, according to TALKERS.com.
The site announced Monday that Hannity would receive the award in New York City on June 2.
TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison said the award was “a non-partisan honor presented to a person in the industry who sets a meaningful example of the First Amendment in action, either by having taken a high-profile, risky stand on a controversial issue or working on an exceptional level to make that opportunity available to others.”
TALKERS does not necessarily endorse the positions or point-of-view espoused by award winners, but affirms the right to express it in public and the courage to accept the consequences of doing so.
“Sean Hannity is the clear-cut champion of [standing up for free speech] and a high-profile example of it in action in the talk media industry today,” Harrison said.
“The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is the bedrock of all of this nation’s freedoms and values. Without it, this world would not be the country we believe it to be in our minds and hearts. It is clearly the most important element that makes American talk media vibrant, alive, and indispensable,” Harrison said regarding the rationale for giving the award each year.