Seeing this again I'm not sure Falco isn't the worse of the two?

And to make it worse - Falco isn't even his own man. He lives to suck up to JJ. Disdainful as JJ is, at least he needs no one else to define himself.

IMO both Hunsecker & Falco are psychopaths. Hunsecker has more power & prestige than Falco, so Hunsecker dominates. I view this film as a cautionary tale to avoid psychopaths at all costs.

I think Falco is the more damned because he knows the difference between right and wrong, but chooses evil of his own free will. There are two points in the film where you can see he has a conscience but deliberately ignores it.

The first I have forgotten the exact scene but JJ is metaphorically kicking a man when he is down and Sydney is thinking "enough already". He is not a sadist or psycho. He only damages people for material or career advantage. The second is the marvelously subtle scene where he refuses to frame the musician then subconsciously comes up with the idea of writing JJ's column for three months. The split second where he changes his tune is wonderful writing and acting.

JJ is not conscious of doing evil. He is a psychopath. He probably actually believes all his own right-wing patriotic crap and hypocritical morality on his radio show. He probably generally believes he is doing the best for his sister. We do not know why he is wrong in the head but I suspect a repressed incestuous desire for his (very enticing) sister may have warped him. Note the photo of his sister in his office where others would have their wife, kids or girlfriend. They could not enlarge on this topic in a movie of that era, but the film is all the better for leaving it implied only.