WBFH
Encyclopedia
WBFH, also known as The Biff, is a community radio
station operating out of Bloomfield Hills Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
. WBFH has been in operation since October 1, 1976, and runs at 360 watts (making it the most powerful high school station in the state) at 88.1 MHz on the FM dial. The signal is directional and can be heard throughout Pontiac, West Bloomfield, Auburn Hills and points north.
WBFH is licensed to the Bloomfield Hills School District and is an activity open to both Andover and Lahser High School Students. Becoming a staff member requires a pre-requisite class followed by an application upon which the station managers decide which students make the cut. WBFH is run by Pete Bowers, and has been since its inception. His support staff includes broadcast veterans Randy Carr as chief engineer and Ron Wittebols as special projects manager. WBFH follows a format they call "Best of the Old, Best of the New" which includes current mainstream CHR
/Top 40 hits, oldies
, and everything in between.
As of 2007, the WBFH staff has won more awards than any other high school radio organization in the State of Michigan. They were named the best station in the nation in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 at the John Drury High School Radio Awards.
WBFH has been named the top high school radio station in the state of Michigan by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters seven consecutive years from 2003 to 2008. They took second in 2009 but retook the title in 2010.
In addition, the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters named WBFH its high school station of the year in 1990, 1995, 2003 and 2006, the last year the award was given.http://www.wbfh.fm/about/awards.html
The station, which is operated out of three studios, is well-known nationally for using top-of-the-line equipment unique to high-school radio stations. The equipment is regarded as professional grade and from time to time better than the average commercial station. They have sponsorship deals with companies like ENCO
who provide them with the latest equipment at reduced cost.
In 1995, WBFH became the first high-school radio station in the state to broadcast 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including on school breaks, holidays, summer vacations, and weekends. This was made possible through the installation of new automation equipment.
WBFH streams audio over the internet via Live365
.
Michigan Association of Broadcasters
Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters
The Biff has won many individual radio awards both locally and nationally. Many wins have been in large part due to individual successes of station staff members. In 2007 Wade Fink won five national awards including four first places and Corey Berkowitz won four. Ryan Fishman also won 5 national awards in 2005. Fishman also won a record setting 25 state and national awards over the course of his Biff tenure. Josh Loney won 21 state and national awards during his time at WBFH.
2009 Drury award winners include Ridwan Alam (News Feature 1st place, Newscast 2nd place), Ryan Bloom (Sportscast 2nd place), Josh Loney (News Reporter 2nd place, Sports Play-by-play 2nd place), Patrick Garretson (Radio Production 1st place and 3rd place). Chad Shepard was nominated for best Public Servdice Announcement.
In 2010, The Biff won 28 total awards at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as well as the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters awards. At the MAB's they won two more than all other stations in the state combined. Chad Shepard won 7 awards total(2 MAEB awards and 5 MAB awards including first place Sports Play-by-Play and Sports PSA). Josh Loney won 10 awards total (6 MAEB awards and 4 MAB awards including Best Talkshow, interview and on-air personality). Also winning awards were Kevin Furlong, Patrick Garretson, Josh Gordon, Ryan Bloom, Alex Scharg, Drake Deitch and Bobby Brandon.
The Biff was nominated for 17 John Drury National Radio Awards 2010, in an attempt to reclaim first place in the nation. The winners were announced in November. WBFH retook the title as best station in the nation winning 9 awards total. Josh Loney won four awards out of eight nominations including a first place as Talk Show host (Public Affairs) and awards in Newscast (2nd place), Sportscast (3rd place with Bob Berman) and Promo (2nd place). Alex Scharg won two awards, taking first in Promo and Radio Drama Adaptation. Ryan Bloom won first in Sports Play-by-Play, Alex Osten took first in Newscast, Bob Berman took third in Sportscast alongside Josh Loney and Chad Shepard took second in Public Service Announcement. Loney filmed the Biff's trip to the 2010 awards in the short film "On the Road to Chicago". The trip was taken by Loney, Bobby Brandon, Pete Bowers and Randy Carr.
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station operating out of Bloomfield Hills Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
. WBFH has been in operation since October 1, 1976, and runs at 360 watts (making it the most powerful high school station in the state) at 88.1 MHz on the FM dial. The signal is directional and can be heard throughout Pontiac, West Bloomfield, Auburn Hills and points north.
WBFH is licensed to the Bloomfield Hills School District and is an activity open to both Andover and Lahser High School Students. Becoming a staff member requires a pre-requisite class followed by an application upon which the station managers decide which students make the cut. WBFH is run by Pete Bowers, and has been since its inception. His support staff includes broadcast veterans Randy Carr as chief engineer and Ron Wittebols as special projects manager. WBFH follows a format they call "Best of the Old, Best of the New" which includes current mainstream CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
/Top 40 hits, oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
, and everything in between.
As of 2007, the WBFH staff has won more awards than any other high school radio organization in the State of Michigan. They were named the best station in the nation in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 at the John Drury High School Radio Awards.
WBFH has been named the top high school radio station in the state of Michigan by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters seven consecutive years from 2003 to 2008. They took second in 2009 but retook the title in 2010.
In addition, the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters named WBFH its high school station of the year in 1990, 1995, 2003 and 2006, the last year the award was given.http://www.wbfh.fm/about/awards.html
The station, which is operated out of three studios, is well-known nationally for using top-of-the-line equipment unique to high-school radio stations. The equipment is regarded as professional grade and from time to time better than the average commercial station. They have sponsorship deals with companies like ENCO
Enco
Enco may refer either to:*Enco River in Chile*Enco , a secondary brand used by Humble Oil, in certain states from 1960 to 1973....
who provide them with the latest equipment at reduced cost.
In 1995, WBFH became the first high-school radio station in the state to broadcast 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including on school breaks, holidays, summer vacations, and weekends. This was made possible through the installation of new automation equipment.
WBFH streams audio over the internet via Live365
Live365
Live365 is an Internet radio network where members can create their own online radio station or listen to other Live365 broadcasters' online stations. As of October 2006, there were about 6,500 active stations, some of which play niche genres seldom heard on AM/FM radio...
.
Successful alumni
WBFH has fostered many successful careers in radio and other media:- Scott "The Gator" Anderson - Co-Host "Karsch & Anderson" on 97.1 WXYT-FM
- JoAnne Purtan - Consumer Reporter WXYZ-TVWXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
- Heather Catallo - Investigative Reporter and Weekend Anchor WXYZ-TVWXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
- Jackie Purtan - Morning Show Personality and Producer, 104.3 WOMCWOMCWOMC is a Classic Hits radio station broadcasting in the Detroit, Michigan, USA area. WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan. WOMC broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 190,000 watts from an antenna height of 361 feet...
- Jennifer Purtan - Vice President of Sales CBS Television, WWJ-TVWWJ-TVWWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....
& WKBD-TV - Ric Blackwell - New Anchor, WPECWPECWPEC is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Gold and Treasure Coasts of South Florida. Licensed to West Palm Beach, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter in Lake Worth along U.S. 441/SR 7. The station is the flagship of Freedom Communications...
TV - Rob Simpson - Rink-Side Reporter for Boston BruinsBoston BruinsThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
(NHL) - Ryan "Jay" Fishman - Talk Personality, WSYRWSYR (AM)WSYR is a 5,000 watt radio station licensed to Syracuse, New York. Owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications, it broadcasts a talk radio format under the moniker "Newsradio 106.9 WSYR." It was previously billed as "Newsradio 570 WSYR" until it became a simulcast with WPHR-FM in January...
, New York - Jason Horowitz - Sports Personality, CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
- Guy Cacciarelli - Vice President of Content Distribution for Fuse/Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
Networks, Former Senior Director of Sales MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Networks - Alex Rusciano - News Director 92.1 FM KRLS/1320 AM KNIAKNIAKNIA is a full-service radio station licensed to serve Knoxville, Iowa, USA. The station is owned by M and H Broadcasting, Inc....
- Arturo Santiago - News Anchor KCOY TV
Achievements
John Drury High School Radio Awards- 2010: 1st Place Best High School Radio Station
- 2009: 2nd Place, Best High School Radio Station
- 2008: 1st Place (tie w/WLTLWLTLWLTL Radio , and formerly known as "Rock88" is a non profit high school educational radio station located in LaGrange, Illinois, and run out of Lyons Township High School. WLTL has won several national and local awards including the Service to America award. All of WLTL is student run...
), Best High School Radio Station - 2007: 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station
- 2006: 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station
- 2005: 3rd Place, Best High School Radio Station
Michigan Association of Broadcasters
- 2010: High School Station of the Year
- 2008: High School Station of the Year
- 2007: High School Station of the Year
- 2006: High School Station of the Year
- 2005: High School Station of the Year
- 2004: High School Station of the Year (tie)
- 2003: High School Station of the Year
Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters
- 2006: Carl V. Jacobson Educational Broadcasting Achievement Award
- 2003: High School Station of the Year
- 1995: High School Station of the Year
- 1990: High School Station of the Year
The Biff has won many individual radio awards both locally and nationally. Many wins have been in large part due to individual successes of station staff members. In 2007 Wade Fink won five national awards including four first places and Corey Berkowitz won four. Ryan Fishman also won 5 national awards in 2005. Fishman also won a record setting 25 state and national awards over the course of his Biff tenure. Josh Loney won 21 state and national awards during his time at WBFH.
2009 Drury award winners include Ridwan Alam (News Feature 1st place, Newscast 2nd place), Ryan Bloom (Sportscast 2nd place), Josh Loney (News Reporter 2nd place, Sports Play-by-play 2nd place), Patrick Garretson (Radio Production 1st place and 3rd place). Chad Shepard was nominated for best Public Servdice Announcement.
In 2010, The Biff won 28 total awards at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as well as the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters awards. At the MAB's they won two more than all other stations in the state combined. Chad Shepard won 7 awards total(2 MAEB awards and 5 MAB awards including first place Sports Play-by-Play and Sports PSA). Josh Loney won 10 awards total (6 MAEB awards and 4 MAB awards including Best Talkshow, interview and on-air personality). Also winning awards were Kevin Furlong, Patrick Garretson, Josh Gordon, Ryan Bloom, Alex Scharg, Drake Deitch and Bobby Brandon.
The Biff was nominated for 17 John Drury National Radio Awards 2010, in an attempt to reclaim first place in the nation. The winners were announced in November. WBFH retook the title as best station in the nation winning 9 awards total. Josh Loney won four awards out of eight nominations including a first place as Talk Show host (Public Affairs) and awards in Newscast (2nd place), Sportscast (3rd place with Bob Berman) and Promo (2nd place). Alex Scharg won two awards, taking first in Promo and Radio Drama Adaptation. Ryan Bloom won first in Sports Play-by-Play, Alex Osten took first in Newscast, Bob Berman took third in Sportscast alongside Josh Loney and Chad Shepard took second in Public Service Announcement. Loney filmed the Biff's trip to the 2010 awards in the short film "On the Road to Chicago". The trip was taken by Loney, Bobby Brandon, Pete Bowers and Randy Carr.