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Show Notes

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Thursday, February 27, 2003 ***EARLY SHOW TONIGHT** an extra hour: 9pm - 1am
Tonight's Show:

9 PM - David Talbot, publisher of SALON.COM, a wonderful online publication. Is the future for the magazine bleak?

10pm - Hans Von Sponek - Former High ranking United Nations official gives us the "low down" on the Iraq "confrontation". Saddam is looking like he'll get rid of that missile. Will that finally stop Bush from attacking innocent citizens in Iraq? (I gotta million of em...'take my wife, please')

11pm - Let's debrief last night's "debate". Well, at least I had "the voice of reason", Mr. Ross himself with me --reservedly in my corner. Your comments? Ideas for future Panels? Favorite moments? Stuff you hated?

Midnight - MR ROGERS is Dead. It really saddens me. Many don't realize what a truly great person he was, with great vision and compassion and intelligence. We'll talk about this unusual time in our lives. The precipice of War and the death of a very peaceful man who wanted to give children the best start he could with his TV show. Plus, other Children oriented shows. You like any of em still?? I do. I'll reveal my favorite tonight. Yours too?

¶ 6:16 PM

Some quick random thoughts before bed time. Sad to hear the news of Fred Rogers' death. He was a wonderful man who delivered unconditional love to everyone he enountered...

Thanks so much for the great support at last night's Debate about Iraq. The audience was overwhelmingly supportive of alternatives to war, I think, throwing some of our "pro-war" panel. This is activism in action. Showing the largest Northwest radio audience that we believe in peace and will question these cliche' driven right wingers like Medved who expect the red carpet rolled out and that no one dare demand they explain their bumper sticker slogans. Thank you so much for your support.

Also a HUGE thank you to correspondant JANE B, who helped so tirelessly in getting the word out. We'll talk about the debate on Thursday's show. Please feel free to send an email with suggestions for better, future shows. Again, thanks so much for your passion and conviction in finding peaceful solutions to our serious global problems!
-mike

¶ 4:14 AM

Project For A New American Century link. It's time to wake up and smell the Bushes.

¶ 12:52 AM

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

MOVE ON.ORG
TRUEMAJORITY.ORG
WIN WITHOUT WAR US

STOP THE WAR! Wednesday is the VIRTUAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON. Click links above to participate.

¶ 10:28 PM

I'm posting a couple of press pieces recently reported about my new deal with KIRO. Thought you might be interested. But first: Two things to remember. Tomorrow, Weds, 2/26 is The Virtual March On Washington. It's EASY to show up for this one. JUST CLICK HERE.
The other thing is our KIRO forum also on Weds: "United Nations, Divided Opinions". Even though, I will be accompanied by my advisor, George W. Bush (he's so swell, he's just a DOLL!), I'd love YOUR support, too.
It's at the Rainier Room at the Seattle Center. Get there early, please. Dave Ross, Dori Monson and I will talk about war with Iraq and Michael Medved will be there for decoration or something. 7pm - 10pm TOMORROW. It'll be better than a Nora Jones CD!
ok..here's one of the stories about ME ME ME: (bet you didn't know I was a "crusading liberal")

Thursday, February 20, 2003

Radio Beat: Liberal talk radio: Build it right and they will come

By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Is there a national market to support a stable of liberal talk show hosts on commercial radio to rival the right's Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and dozens of others?

Past results haven't been encouraging but another group is taking a shot at it.

The Associated Press reported recently that a group of venture capitalists from Chicago and an Atlanta radio executive are trying to put together a radio network. They've pledged $10 million and are looking for others to join the effort. One of the people they're talking to as a potential host is writer Al Franken -- author of the book "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot."

AP says the group maintains liberal talk radio hasn't worked in the past because it wasn't marketed properly and wasn't entertaining enough. They want to counter what they see as right-wing domination of the radio talk show sector.

The right would argue that talk radio arose as its media outlet to counter the left's dominance of agenda-setting newspapers, the television networks and public radio and television. The left, in turn, argues that there is no such domination, that NPR isn't liberal . . . and around and around it goes.

For some perspective on the issue, we turn to Ken Berry, who manages news-talk KIRO-AM as well as the new entrant to right-wing talk, KTTH-AM.

Does liberal talk work? Berry says he thinks so, "because I hired Mike Webb," heard at 10 p.m. weeknights. Weekend host Erin Hart also holds liberal views, he says, "and you could make the case that Dave Ross is on the liberal side of moderate."

"Individual liberal hosts have worked in a lot of different cities," he adds, noting the success of Bernie Ward at KGO in San Francisco, a station where Berry used to work.

But why aren't there more, and why no national hosts? Berry cites several reasons: the differences between the way conservative audiences relate to one another as well as to talk hosts and radio stations, the pull of public stations among liberal audiences (particularly in this market, with KUOW-FM and KPLU-FM) and the approach of some liberal hosts (Webb succeeds, Berry says, because he is "a crusading liberal . . . not apologetically liberal").

The biggest problem, he says, is not that the unsuccessful hosts are liberal, it's that "they're bad radio talent."

Most of the conservative talk hosts didn't come from politics. Limbaugh spent years in radio learning what works before he made it big. One attempt to create a national liberal talk host that didn't work: Mario Cuomo.

Bill O'Reilly made roughly the same point when speaking at a radio convention in Seattle last year. A liberal host can succeed if he or she is engaging and entertaining, he said.

That's why Berry thinks organizers of the new network are making a mistake if one of their prospective hosts is Franken. "We've had him on as a guest," he says. "He's not a good radio guest."

¶ 12:16 PM

Here's an interview published this week in ALLACCESS.COM, an online radio industry publication (membership site). Thought you might want to scroll through. People occasionally ask about my adventures in this Circus sideshow called broadcasting. It's called "10 Questions With Mike Webb".

NAME: Mike Webb
TITLE: Talk Show Host
STATION: KIRO
MARKET: Seattle
COMPANY: Entercom
BORN: A REAL talk show host never gives his age.
RAISED: San Francisco
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Street reporter for SF’s legendary “Underground Rock” station, KMPX.
Hosted a public affairs show “From the Campus” on KFRC when I was a teenager.
Hosted nights for several years at K-101 in SF. Also at ABC’s KSFX, and KCBS-FM. Did news at NPR affiliate, KQED.
Came to Seattle in 1981. Brief stint at R/B station, KFOX, then hosted nights at KPLUS-FM (KPLZ, now “Star 101.5”).
Program Director of KVI from 1984 – 90.
Program Director of KIXI, 1991 – 1993.
Public Affairs at WARM 106.9 (KRWM).
Joined Seattle’s heritage, # 1 station KIRO in 1996. Just signed a deal for nights (10pm – 1am).
WEBSITE: www.mikewebb.org

1. How did you get your start in radio?

Wrote a media column for the youth section of The Monitor Newspaper in San Francisco. I made a lot of contacts that way. One day, I was just handed a Sony TC-100 cassette recorder by KFRC news anchor Ron Casteel. I would get interviews at school, bounce topics around with other kids and turn it into a weekly show called "From The Campus." Moved into news at progressive rock station KMPX, then started hosting music shows at K-101, KCBS-FM and KSFX. Came to Seattle and moved into programming. Was PD at KVI and KIXI. In 1996, I was offered a talk show at KIRO which completely re-ignited my enthusiasm for radio.

2. What are you passionate about?

I guess I just answered that. This is about as cliché’ as you can get, but I love radio. Radio is its own special brand of entertainment. There’s an intimacy and privacy to it that is not possible in other media. When music radio became so research-intensive, I started losing interest. Stations started sounding like juke boxes with impersonal voices attached to them. But not talk radio. It’s got the potential of being very organic and, by design, unpredictable and spontaneous. I get the same feeling every time I go on at KIRO as I did during my first shows in San Francisco as a teenager. It’s exciting. Even with all the prep in the world, I never really know what’s going to happen on any given night. One caller, one thought, one breaking news story can completely change our direction. I believe talk radio is the only format that has allowed radio to stay truly fresh. But it’s got to keep changing and growing.

3. Recently, the issue of whether liberal talkers can be successful has arisen again. You're an example of someone who's found success in talk radio from the left- why have you been successful while some others have failed? What do you do that liberal talkers should learn to break through the logjam of conservative talk on the dial?

First of all, there is a misunderstanding about the history of talk radio. There is no reason to believe it is by nature a conservative medium. I listened as a kid in the 1960s to great hosts who had varying political identities on KGO and KNEW. Even K-101 had a “sex-talk” show like LoveLine back in the ‘70s hosted by a guy named Stan Dale.

After Rush and his various duplicates appeared all over the dial, PDs would occasionally toss in some token liberal, like Mario Cuomo (zzzzz), but they’re looking in the wrong place for talent. Book authors and politicians make terrible radio hosts. If I was in programming again, I would first look for people who understand the medium, who know how to make people FEEL something via sound, then balance the station politically. The stereotype liberal is a boring, monotone, pseudo-intellectual, NPR-ish nerd. To me, the challenge is presenting my Pinko, Leftist, Commie agenda with lots of fun and production. We put together highly produced, attention-getting listener montages at the top of each hour and sometimes as re-entries out of the stop sets. We run it like a top 40 music show, with theme-oriented bumpers and we use audio instead of quoting from “the paper” whenever possible.

I use my music radio background a lot in the show. A caller is like a song. I just have to figure out when the song is over and its time to segue. It’s easy to think you’re “saving the world” if we listen too much to our hardcore fans. Quite frankly, I think that’s a problem conservatives have when they try to copy Rush. To keep the medium alive and fresh, PDs should be thinking now about finding talented radio people who have truly diverse opinions. God, if I hear “this is a different kind of talk radio” on one more show, I’m gonna puke. Most talk radio is the same rehash, the same opinion coming from the same squeaky little voices who couldn’t generate an original thought if their life depended on it. The outstanding ones are unique and strong - willing to take a chance; the opinions are formed independently, and there is momentum. I think, to get numbers, it’s not about a political perspective. PDs have to give the person a chance to establish and grow an audience. Talent is talent. Lefty flag burners like me are really no different than fat, cigar smoking phony patriots: The job is to keep it interesting and fun.

4. Who's been your favorite interview subject and why?

When I was a kid, I interviewed some very cool performers like Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee. At 15, I interviewed Bill Graham as he was closing the Fillmore West in San Francisco. But I guess if I had to pick a FAVORITE interview -- I would have to say, God. (Hint: digital voice processors are very handy for this kind of interview). And Jesus Christ - he would fill in when God was too busy. It was a bit we did in the overnight show. “Ask God anything.” Sometimes people would get offended but I’d ask them “Who ya gonna believe, this guy talking to you on the radio or the one who is echoing in your head?”

5. If you hadn't gone into radio, what would you probably be doing now?

Drug dealer.

6. You've been a journalist and been active in political advocacy- do you think hosts have a responsibility to take an aggressive advocacy position on issues? Should they do more than host an hour on a topic- should they be lobbying politicians, holding rallies, making noise beyond their radio show?

Sometimes I wish I could just be the “mysterious” voice on the radio, but we do have to get out sometimes. Like I said before, I think it’s easy to let fans convince you that you’re saving the world, so it’s important to keep it all in perspective. It is the radio BUSINESS, after all, so we’re really there just to keep listeners around for the commercials.

But, as music radio does concert promotions, I like the idea of being involved in topics I’m passionate about. One of my first experiences was at a radio station that practiced advocacy journalism at the height of the Vietnam war (KMPX, San Francisco) and it was appropriate at the time and place. At KIRO, the news department has to maintain objectivity when it presents the stories. Then we get to talk about it, twist it, spin it, chew it up, smoke it. It’s really the best mix. Big news blocks balanced with talk shows. The more opinionated and passionate the host, the better the show.

Regarding outside advocacy, I have done some lobbying, traveling to DC, working on the Hate Crimes Bill and ENDA (the employment nondiscrimination act). I’ve appeared at functions with Martina Navratilova and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd families to push for some of this legislation and speak at rallies sometimes. But, separate from the political advocacy, we do literally have a community obligation. Radio stations are trustees of the licenses we hold and I take that part seriously. Most of us at KIRO have a special project that we integrate with the station. I have two areas of focus this year: working with Northwest Harvest (a food bank program) and helping disenfranchised youth. We will be fundraising for the Orion Center and Lambert House, a drop in center for gay youth. Also, we bring in high school students to debate the Iraq issue and will host other youth forums. The show regularly features what I call the “Peace Summit” where we very blatantly advocate for a non-military solution to the middle east problem. Panels won’t exceed 3 people and they are usually congress members and well known activists like Rep. Jim McDermott and film maker Michael Moore.

7. What other talk radio do you listen to? Are there any conservative hosts you respect? Any liberals you WISH had a show?

I greatly respect KGO and their entire lineup. I grew up listening to a conservative named Ira Blu who used to do his show from the Fairmont Hotel. KGO has a nice balance, from Bernie Ward and Ray Taliaferro to Ronn Owens and Gene Burns. All very smart people.

I have absolutely no respect for Michael Savage and his primitive ideas, but he does a fantastic radio show. He’s funny as hell.

Michael Moore would probably be a good host. He’s quick and passionate and understands humor.

8. What do you do for fun?

I enjoy giving interviews to radio tip sheets. It’s a hobby.

9. Fill in the blank: I can’t make it through the day without _______________.

...reading All Access and its great, unbiased Talk Topic links. (*smirk*).

10. What’s the best advice you ever got? The worst?

I’m in radio. I don’t listen to advice.

¶ 12:04 PM

STEAL THIS BOOK. um, I mean BAD people would steal books. I would never recommend stealing. That would be wrong. Also wrong, is an author who writes a whole book about Bill Clinton having TOO MUCH POWER. How freaking ridiculous is THAT? Here we have a president who is working on part two of "Shredding the Constitution" (The Patriot Act II), is mobilizing for an illegal war, was placed in office under suspicious circumstances and this guy writes a book about Clinton. Will they EVER get over the fact that he presided over one of the country's most successful periods in history?

¶ 11:47 AM

Virtual Protest on Wednesday. Click here to Participate!

¶ 2:34 AM

Sunday, February 23, 2003

This Wednesday - February 26, come out and show your SUPPORT FOR PEACE during KIRO's Special Roundtable - "United Nations - Divided Opinions", 7pm - 10pm at the Seattle Center's Rainier Room.
The panel consists of a finely honed balance of hosts: Pro War, Michael Medved, Pro War, Dave Ross, Pro War, Dori Monson and...oh....Pro PEACE, Mike Webb. Please come and show your support for this wonderful diversity of opinion Wednesday night and make a little noise! The event will be broadcast live on 710 KIRO.

Weds is also the Virtual March on Washington, so please do your part. Your participation is a click away. CLICK
Learn More About Peace - SNOW COALITION

¶ 1:00 PM