WHFH
Encyclopedia
WHFH 88.5 FM is an American FM non-profit non-commercial educational
high school radio
station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
to serve the community of and areas surrounding Flossmoor, Illinois
. The station is owned and operated by Homewood-Flossmoor High School
.
Flossmoor is located about 20 miles south of Chicago
. The station has a potential listening audience of 2.4 million people. Operating at 1,500 watts, WHFH is one of the largest high school radio stations in the United States. The station operates Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 9:00 PM and on Fridays, when it shuts down at 6:00 PM. WHFH sometimes extends its broadcasting hours to accommodate extra programming (i.e. school sports games and political coverage).
with faculty oversight. The station's license is vested in the Board of Education. The station's General Manager is Robert Comstock, an alumni, who has been acting in various roles with the program since the 1960s.
WHFH has both curricular and volunteer positions. During a students second year in the curriculum he/she must produce, edit, and direct a 55 minute radio documentary
that is broadcasted live over the radio. Only by successfully completing this assignment is a student given a management position during their third and fourth years in the program.
Northbound range varies due to the frequency overlap with WHPK
at University of Chicago
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
high school radio
High school radio
High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...
station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to serve the community of and areas surrounding Flossmoor, Illinois
Flossmoor, Illinois
Flossmoor is a village in south suburban Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,464 at the 2010 census.The village is renowned for the quality and architectural variety of its housing stock, as well as its proximity to numerous country clubs. It prides itself on being a...
. The station is owned and operated by Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School is a public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The majority of HF students live in Flossmoor and nearby Homewood, but the school also serves areas of Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, and Hazel Crest serving school...
.
Flossmoor is located about 20 miles south of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The station has a potential listening audience of 2.4 million people. Operating at 1,500 watts, WHFH is one of the largest high school radio stations in the United States. The station operates Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 9:00 PM and on Fridays, when it shuts down at 6:00 PM. WHFH sometimes extends its broadcasting hours to accommodate extra programming (i.e. school sports games and political coverage).
History
Starting as 'The Radio Club' in 1962, Homewood-Flossmoor High School was originally granted a license to operate at 10 watts on the 88.5 FM frequency on December 21, 1964. The first broadcast was on January 7, 1965. Over the years the program grew. In the 1970s the station boosted its power to 1,500 watts (where it remains to this day). A new studio was built in 1992 in order to accommodate the school's growing television program.Student Curriculum
WHFH is run mainly by the student body of Homewood-Flossmoor High SchoolHomewood-Flossmoor High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School is a public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The majority of HF students live in Flossmoor and nearby Homewood, but the school also serves areas of Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, and Hazel Crest serving school...
with faculty oversight. The station's license is vested in the Board of Education. The station's General Manager is Robert Comstock, an alumni, who has been acting in various roles with the program since the 1960s.
WHFH has both curricular and volunteer positions. During a students second year in the curriculum he/she must produce, edit, and direct a 55 minute radio documentary
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
that is broadcasted live over the radio. Only by successfully completing this assignment is a student given a management position during their third and fourth years in the program.
Reception pattern
WHFH can be heard within the following boundaries:- to the North: 95th Street
- to the South: KankakeeKankakee, IllinoisKankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County...
- to the East : HammondHammond, IndianaHammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....
, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is... - to the West : LockportLockport, IllinoisLockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, that incorporated in 1853. Lockport is located in northeastern Illinois, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and north of Joliet, at locks connecting Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the Des Plaines River via the Lockport...
Northbound range varies due to the frequency overlap with WHPK
WHPK
WHPK-FM is a radio station based in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, this frequency is also used by several local high schools in the Chicago metropolitan area.The University of Chicago owns the station's FCC license...
at University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...