High schoolers rule the airwaves

It was 12:30 Friday afternoon, and those driving through the Bloomfield Hills area with their radios tuned to 88.1 FM found themselves on a trip down memory lane as DJ Corey Berkowitz played everything from Atetha Franklin to the Beatles.

“It's time to rock on the Biff,” Corey, a junior from Andover High School, told his WBFH listeners before playing “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

WBFH, better known as the Biff, is the student radio station for Andover and Lahser high schools in the Bloomfield Hills Schools District. The station is in its 30th year and has racked up a slew of awards this month that helps cement its reputation as one of the best high school radio stations in the country.

Last Week, the station won nine awards in the annual contest held by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation.

And earlier this month, the John Drury High School Radio Awards gave the station 17 awards, including the honor of best high school station in the country for the second year in a row.

The Biff dominated the national awards, taking home 11 more awards than the second-place station, from Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Ill.

The Biff broadcasters are “regular stars at this program,” said Jennifer McGuffin, spokeswoman for North Central College in Naperville, Ill., which sponsors the awards program.

Two of the station’s students won as many or more John Drury awards then the second-place station as a whole. Corey received six awards while Wade Fink, a senior, earned seven.

“We don’t dow what we do for the awards. But it sure is nice to be recognized,” said Pete Bowers, station manager and radio broadcasting instructor for both high schools.

The Biff operates 24/7, with live broadcasts from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s a variety station, so you’re just as likely to hear oldies as you are hip-hop, hard rock or alternative music.

There also are talk shows, and the station provides play-by-play at athletic events and broadcasts from events like the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Kevin Qian, 18, cohosts a show every Tuesday and is the operations manager at the Biff, making sure that the station runs smoothly.

But after three years with the station, he’ll be leaving soon. The Andover senior from Bloomfield Hills is graduating and plans to attend Duke University in the fall.

“It’s terrible,” he said about leaving. “Honestly, this radio station is the one thing I’ve stuck with all the way through high school.”