Bloomfield Hills Andover Students Seize the Moment at GOP Debate

Tucked away toward the very back of the media center at Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate at Oakland University, seniors Paul Stewart, Justin Lopas and Josh Lumsden paused while talking strategy to reflect on what they were about to do.

While most of their peers were doing homework, at practice or maybe even watching from home, the seasoned trio of broadcasters with WBFH-FM, 88.1, "The Biff," were about to cover a live presidential debate from the scene of the event. Barely a 20-minute drive from home.

“When we heard that (the debate) was coming so close to home, we knew that we had to be part of it, and I’m so excited to be here,” said Stewart, the station’s operations manager and host of The Mixing Board from 7-9 p.m. Mondays.

Though radio is their medium, Stewart and company are multimedia dynamos. Armed with BlackBerry tablets, cellphones, digital audio and video recorders and even walkie-talkies, they worked the media center and kept a watchful eye on the more than 200 other journalists from around the country for tips on how to cover a major story.

“We’re soaking it in, trying to get familiar with the other media and get some valuable experience,” said Lopas, who hosts his own show from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday.

In addition to covering the event live and engaging their fans through social media, each said he tried to gather as much content as possible to fill the shows.

For Stewart, that meant pushing his way through the throng of reporters and photographers who swarmed the candidates as they entered the post-debate “spin room,” as it is called. He had a close exchange with former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who explained in more detail his comments during the debate about slashing government spending and debt.

The Michigan Republican Party and Oakland University approved credentials for all media interested in attending, and having the high school students inside the media filing center was never a question, said Ted Montgomery, OU’s media relations director.

“This is a great event, and they should be here to be part of this. It’s really a unique opportunity,” said Montgomery, an Andover graduate and former WBHF disk jockey.

That wasn’t lost on Lumsden, host of The Den from 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays. He persuaded his classmates to take photos of each other in the middle of the press corps before leaving.

“This is only going to happen once,” he said.