How did Sean Hannity influence conservative media during the 2000s?

I spent many evenings in my living room with the radio on low, just background noise while I tinkered with my turntable setup, and Hannity’s voice was everywhere on talk radio. He basically took the fiery, opinionated style of guys like Rush Limbaugh and turned it into a nightly ritual for millions, making conservative talk a must-listen for the drive-home crowd. His show pushed a very partisan, aggressive tone that got other stations and hosts to follow suit, and his syndication meant even small-town AM stations like the one I sometimes picked up at night had that same hard-edged commentary.

Hold on-let me clarify what you mean by "influence." Are you asking about his direct impact on radio ratings or his role in shaping the ideological direction of talk shows? Because those are two different things in my log. I kept daily traffic notes on syndicated programs back then, and Hannity's move to a solo prime-time slot on Fox News Radio in 2009 cemented a model where hosts doubled as cable personalities, blurring the line between news commentary and political activism. His relentless focus on the War on Terror and criticism of mainstream outlets pushed other conservative hosts to adopt a more combative, crusading tone, which I logged as a distinct shift in listener call-in patterns.