Mike Webb (radio host)
- For Mike Webb former co-host for NWS-9 Adelaide's Hey Hey it's Saturday turned Pastor see Mike Webb (pastor)
Mike Webb (September 4, 1955 - April 14, 2007) was a radio personality based in Seattle, Washington. He started as a news reporter and was best known as a liberal talk show host and activist.
Webb was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He had an early interest in radio. As a teenager, he was a street reporter broadcasting observations of civil rights, anti-war protests and youth issues for San Francisco radio stations KMPX, KQED and KCBS. KMPX was the nation's first progressive rock station, started by Top 40 disc jockey Tom Donahue, and took a very unapologetic stance of advocacy journalism.
One of Webb's most notable on-air experiences was reporting the murders of San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone by ex-City Supervisor Dan White. Working at KGO, just blocks away from the City Hall tragedy, Webb climbed to the station's rooftop, giving live reports of a city in great shock and grief. Later, when the guilty verdict rendered just a five-year sentence for White, outraged citizens took over City Hall, bashed in the doors, overturned police cars and started fires. Reporters from every major television network joined Webb on that same rooftop reporting all the activity.
Webb went on to other Bay Area radio stations, working as as an on-air personality for KIOI, KFRC and KSFX.
In the 1980s, Webb moved to Seattle and hosted shows at KPLZ, KEZX, and KZOK. He served as program director of KVI from 1984 until 1991 and at KIXI until 1994.
Webb was best known for his work at KIRO, where he started in 1996. Webb was also an activist, lobbying for hate crimes legislation and Senator Edward Kennedy's Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). In the late 1990s, Webb worked for John McMullen on his Internet radio project, GayBC Radio Network. On GayBC, Webb hosted a talk show, but also handled live broadcasts of breaking news events such as gay pride events and the protest activity surrounding the World Trade Organization's 1999 Ministerial Conference in Seattle.
Outside of his radio show, Webb produced audio and did voiceover work on documentaries, industrial videos, internet and commercial work at his studio.
Webb remembered his interviews with attorney Gerry Spence, activists Michael Moore and Norman Solomon, United Nations Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, and Serving in Silence author Grethe Cammermeyer as among his favorites.
Webb was fired from KIRO in December 2005 after he was charged with making a fraudulent insurance claim after an automobile accident the previous June, when his Lexus was struck by an uninsured driver. He was found guilty in February of 2007, fined, and sentenced to perform community service.
Death
Without explanation, Webb ceased producing his webcasted talk show, with the last show being recorded on April 13, 2007. Subsequently, he was reported missing by his sister, who stated she hadn't talked to him since April 13. Webb's sister told Seattle's KOMO 4 News that she thought he might be in danger.
On June 28, 2007, Seattle Police reported that a decomposed body had been found at Webb's Queen Anne home. Discovered by the property manager, the body was located in a crawl space underneath a blue plastic tarp and several storage boxes.
Following identification on June 29, the body was confirmed to be that of Mike Webb. The King County coroner further determined Webb's death to be a homicide due to "multiple sharp force trauma." On July 19, 2007, it was announced that Scott White was arrested for the murder. According to Seattle police, White allegedly killed Webb with an axe as he slept.
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