Peter Werbe
Encyclopedia
Peter Werbe is a radio talk show
host and political activist
. He hosts Nightcall Sunday nights on Detroit
's WRIF
101.1 FM. Werbe's tenure, having commenced in 1970, makes him one of the longest broadcasting talk show
hosts in radio history.
for the last four decades, hosting WRIF's weekly public affairs broadcast, Nightcall, and, with the almost fifty-year-old, anarchist magazine, the Fifth Estate (Official site: www.FifthEstate.org).
Nightcall is a live, two-hour, phone-in talk show aired on Sunday nights beginning at 11pm Eastern, followed by two half-hour recorded interviews with various authors, activists, and academics at 1am. Since 2006, he has been joined by singer/songwriter and WCSX
DJ Juline Jordan. Nightcall is longest running phone-in talk show in radio history, but since it airs only weekly, is rarely given credit for its record.
Werbe took over a weekly talk show on WRIF, Spare Change, in 1970 from Harvey Ovshinsky
, founder of the Fifth Estate newspaper. When Ovshinsky left to become News Director of seminal FM rocker WABX in Detroit, Werbe remained as a weekly host until 1972 when the station owners, ABC Radio, decided that each of their owned and operated FM station should have a daily overnight public affairs phone-in talk show to cover their license requirements with the Federal Communications Commission. Werbe re-christened it Nightcall, although actually it was through an on-air listener contest to name the broadcast.
Werbe hosted the program from July 1972 until 1976 doing variously a three- and four-hour show in the middle of the night. The show was terminated when ABC decided such programming was no longer necessary for their purposes. After a brief stint at WABX, Werbe remained on unemployment compensation until 1978 when he hired on as a week-end rock DJ at Detroit's WWWW
and also hosted a one hour, weekend jazz program. When the station changed its rock format to country in 1980 to sabotage an AFTRA broadcasters' union organizing effort, Werbe quit and worked in construction until 1982 when he was re-hired at WRIF by program director, Fred Jacobs, as a weekend DJ. When Nightcall's then-host Michael Collins left, Werbe re-assumed the reins where he has held forth since. Prior to Collins, Sheila Rushlow had been the host.
Werbe currently hosts a Mon-Fri classic rock show on the WCSX HD channel, Deep Trax, from 2-7pm.
Werbe also hosts the weekly Peter Werbe Show, where he interviews authors, musicians, and political and cultural activists. The show features two 25-minute interviews. In the Detroit area, The Peter Werbe Show can be heard on WCSX
and WMGC-FM Sunday mornings at 6:00 AM, and directly following Nightcall at 1:00 AM on WRIF
. Podcast links to the interviews are available through Peter's website, mentioned above.
Werbe hosted a nationally syndicated program on the now-defunct i.e. America Radio Network
, from October 2000 to June 2003.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host and political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. He hosts Nightcall Sunday nights on Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
's WRIF
WRIF
WRIF — branded 101 WRIF: The RIFF — is a commercial active rock radio station licensed by the FCC to operate in Detroit, Michigan serving surrounding Metro Detroit. The station is currently owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc. WRIF is a grandfathered Class B station with a signal equivalent to...
101.1 FM. Werbe's tenure, having commenced in 1970, makes him one of the longest broadcasting talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
hosts in radio history.
Nightcall
Peter Werbe has been a fixture in Detroit alternative mediaAlternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
for the last four decades, hosting WRIF's weekly public affairs broadcast, Nightcall, and, with the almost fifty-year-old, anarchist magazine, the Fifth Estate (Official site: www.FifthEstate.org).
Nightcall is a live, two-hour, phone-in talk show aired on Sunday nights beginning at 11pm Eastern, followed by two half-hour recorded interviews with various authors, activists, and academics at 1am. Since 2006, he has been joined by singer/songwriter and WCSX
WCSX
WCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
DJ Juline Jordan. Nightcall is longest running phone-in talk show in radio history, but since it airs only weekly, is rarely given credit for its record.
Werbe took over a weekly talk show on WRIF, Spare Change, in 1970 from Harvey Ovshinsky
Harvey Ovshinsky
Harvey Ovshinsky is a journalist, story consultant media producer, film maker, and self described "Detroit Story Teller". Ovshinsky was raised in Detroit, Michigan and attended Mumford High School. In 1965, at age 17, he founded and edited Fifth Estate, one of the longest running underground...
, founder of the Fifth Estate newspaper. When Ovshinsky left to become News Director of seminal FM rocker WABX in Detroit, Werbe remained as a weekly host until 1972 when the station owners, ABC Radio, decided that each of their owned and operated FM station should have a daily overnight public affairs phone-in talk show to cover their license requirements with the Federal Communications Commission. Werbe re-christened it Nightcall, although actually it was through an on-air listener contest to name the broadcast.
Werbe hosted the program from July 1972 until 1976 doing variously a three- and four-hour show in the middle of the night. The show was terminated when ABC decided such programming was no longer necessary for their purposes. After a brief stint at WABX, Werbe remained on unemployment compensation until 1978 when he hired on as a week-end rock DJ at Detroit's WWWW
WDTW-FM
WDTW-FM is a classic rock formatted radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications. WDTW-FM is licensed for HD Radio operations; its secondary channel carries Clear Channel's "Pride Radio" format, which features music geared toward the LGBT audience...
and also hosted a one hour, weekend jazz program. When the station changed its rock format to country in 1980 to sabotage an AFTRA broadcasters' union organizing effort, Werbe quit and worked in construction until 1982 when he was re-hired at WRIF by program director, Fred Jacobs, as a weekend DJ. When Nightcall's then-host Michael Collins left, Werbe re-assumed the reins where he has held forth since. Prior to Collins, Sheila Rushlow had been the host.
Werbe currently hosts a Mon-Fri classic rock show on the WCSX HD channel, Deep Trax, from 2-7pm.
Werbe also hosts the weekly Peter Werbe Show, where he interviews authors, musicians, and political and cultural activists. The show features two 25-minute interviews. In the Detroit area, The Peter Werbe Show can be heard on WCSX
WCSX
WCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
and WMGC-FM Sunday mornings at 6:00 AM, and directly following Nightcall at 1:00 AM on WRIF
WRIF
WRIF — branded 101 WRIF: The RIFF — is a commercial active rock radio station licensed by the FCC to operate in Detroit, Michigan serving surrounding Metro Detroit. The station is currently owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc. WRIF is a grandfathered Class B station with a signal equivalent to...
. Podcast links to the interviews are available through Peter's website, mentioned above.
Werbe hosted a nationally syndicated program on the now-defunct i.e. America Radio Network
I.E. America Radio Network
i.e. America Radio Network was a Detroit-based radio network consisting primarily of liberal talk and lifestyle shows. They were owned by the United Auto Workers and broadcast nationally from 1996 to 2004, via radio stations and a webcast.-History:...
, from October 2000 to June 2003.
Fifth Estate
Werbe has been a staff member of the Fifth Estate (Official site: www.FifthEstate.org) almost since its inception in 1965. It began publishing as a biweekly and then a weekly in the early 1970s, went back to a bi-weekly schedule, then appeared as a monthly. It now publishes three times a year.External links
- Official website
- Tribes of the Cass Corridor
- Peter Werbe interviews Frank Zappa - Transcript of a WRIFWRIFWRIF — branded 101 WRIF: The RIFF — is a commercial active rock radio station licensed by the FCC to operate in Detroit, Michigan serving surrounding Metro Detroit. The station is currently owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc. WRIF is a grandfathered Class B station with a signal equivalent to...
telephone conversation (October 28, 1985).