Hannity Stalker Apprehended

A Maryland woman was arrested yesterday for stalking
top radio and TV talk star Sean Hannity.

Starting in March 2004, 52-year-old Miriam Burstein
began showing up outside Hannity's offices at the
Fox News Channel and WABC Radio in New York City,
and following the conservative host as he toured the
country. 

She was first arrested last year and charged with
misdemeanor stalking and harassment, but continued
with her obsession - showing up most recently during
Hannity's remote broadcast in Philadelphia.

In earlier encounters, she tried to hand the ABC/Fox
host a package, shouting on one occasion, "You take
this from me!"

Burstein posed a risk of "physical injury or death"
to Hannity, court documents quoted by the New York
Post said.

The stalker phenomenon is an increasing problem for
radio hosts, according to the trade publication
Talkers Magazine.

"I used to reply to all my e-mails," WABC Radio and
MSNBC host Monica Crowley told the magazine. "But,
when I had my serious stalker problem, the New York
City police told me to stop doing that." Crowley's
stalker was caught and arrested last year.

Salem Radio network host Mike Gallagher had a
similar experience, telling Talkers he's had a
couple of "instances of bona fide stalkers ...
including one who showed up at my apartment in New
York."

"It's really the nature of our medium that we're
really opinionated people and there's no question we
can attract kooks," he explained.