User:DrChuck68/Radio station regional navbox

After doing many edits to radio station regional navigation boxes over the years, I decided to write this essay in order to help preserve some consistency among them. It applies to radio stations in the United States (and U.S. territories), as I have the most familiarity with those stations. Rarely does a brand-new navbox need to be created, but continued maintenance of the current boxes for the sake of consistency is a good thing. I realize that templates (including these) do not display on readers' phones and other mobile devices, but they are still important tools to help organize stations, for both readers and editors on desktop computers. They should be easy to navigate and maintain.

The Wikitext examples below show the usage of.

Name and title (Where am I?)
As stated previously, it is rare that a new navbox will need to be created. However, sometimes they are merged and there may be renaming involved. The name parameter should be the same name of the template. For example, if the template name is Template:Des Moines Radio, the parameter is set to Des Moines Radio. Note that the Template: prefix is left off, that's important. Just remember that the template name and the parameter name need to coincide, otherwise the V, T, and E links (upper left corner of the navbox) will behave incorrectly.

Title and above
There are two items to keep in mind about the title. First, is this discussion from 2013, Arbitron is now Nielsen:

Any title that includes the word "market" may raise a red flag with Nielsen Audio, and is best to avoid it. The TV station templates have already gone through this process, so logically the radio templates follow suit. Also, readers who do not work in the broadcast industry may not recognize what the word "market" means. Using "region," "area," or "metropolitan area" can be more helpful for readers.

The second item is the title should be something appropriate, and consistent with any Nearby regions in below of other templates (parameter is described in . The title parameter is what displays in the title bar of the navbox. Using the vernacular name for a region as the title might not be sufficient for anyone who may not be a resident of the region. Let's look at an example:


 * Radio stations in the Wasatch Front

The above example may not mean a lot to many non-residents. Is it a city? A neighborhood? And what U.S. state is it in? A better title would be:


 * Radio stations in Salt Lake City, Utah

The revised title (along with links to the city and state articles) gives a clearer indication of which city and state this template belongs. This particular template also includes Ogden and Provo, so the title can be further revised:


 * Radio stations in Salt Lake City, Odgen, and Provo, Utah

Follow WP:COMMONNAME and WP:CONSISTENT. The parameter above can be added to further describe the region. For the previous example, This area includes the Wasatch Front might be used.

Frequency groups
The groups of frequencies should be grouped in frequency order, from low to high. Which means AM (530 to 1700 kHz) comes first, followed by shortwave (3 to 30 MHz), then FM (87.5 to 108.0 MHz). Franken-FMs can be added to the FM group, but only if they are active with analog audio on 87.75 MHz. Other bands/groups are ordered appropriately.

AM frequency
AM frequencies are added here in ascending order, each linked to their call sign (article name). Each frequency is on its own line. Note that if two stations are on the same frequency, they can be grouped so that their call signs are shown. Those last two stations would display as 720 (WBAA*WCAA) with each call sign being clickable. This avoids strings of numbers that are identical, leaving readers wondering where a frequency will navigate.

Apex/VHF FM, Shortwave
These two groups don't see much usage. However, the Apex/VHF group is used for New York City radio. There are also some notable shortwave radio stations out there. See WBCQ in Maine.

FM frequency: full-powered, LPFM, translators
There are three types of FM stations: full-powered, low-powered (LPFM), and translators. The latter two types are separated into their own subgroups (or child navboxes). You can see how that is done in the example above. Even if it's just a few LPFMs/translators, this grouping goes a long way to help organize the FM frequencies. As with AM stations, FM stations are linked to their call sign (article name). Translators should also be linked directly to their call sign, which then in turn redirect to the originating station. In some very rare cases, a translator is notable enough for its own article.

Subcarriers, NOAA weather
These two groups are not used often. Not all FM stations have subcarriers, but those frequencies should link to the services being broadcast. NOAA Weather Radio frequencies should link to the call signs associated with each frequency.

HD Radio
HD Radio broadcasts on the same frequencies as regular AM and FM stations. The difference here is that the FM stations can broadcast digital subchannels with alternate programming (AM stations do not have subchannels). In the case where a digital subchannel is simulcasting another radio station, the other radio station's call sign can be used as a link.

Call sign group
Call signs are listed in alphanumeric order, linked directly to their call signs. Stations that have digital subchannels can also be included, as seen in the above example.

Internet and Defunct groups
Online-only radio stations with notability can be added to the Internet group. The Defunct group is only for radio stations that used to broadcast, but no longer broadcast. Stations that never broadcast are not considered defunct, and definitely not notable.

Nearby regions
There was a discussion in 2015 about some of the content of the below parameter, Various regional radio station templates within templates:

, you'll still see some navboxes with this (long) list of links to all the other templates in the state, but this is redundant with each state having their own list of stations (which is also linked on the template). Adding Nearby regions instead appears to be the way to go, and using the edit summary Alternate navigation method per Templates for discussion/Log/2015 October 20

These Nearby regions should consist of links to navboxes that are geographically near the current navbox. Ideally, each navbox would have its own set of coordinates, and these links could magically appear at the bottom of every navbox. Until then, these links need to be created manually. When creating these links, the names should be consistent with the title used in the other navboxes (parameter is described in ). It's a little confusing when the link says Wasatch Front and the destination navbox title is Salt Lake City metropolitan area (Utah). Is Salt Lake City in the Wasatch front? Was I directed to the right navbox? The link really should say Salt Lake City (no need to include "metropolitan area" in the link, as "Salt Lake City" is the important part).

Regional footer template
One thing I discovered when doing these nearby regions is that some regions can be "joined" by using a regional footer template. Three navboxes cover radio stations in Fairfield County, Connecticut. So, I created a regional footer template called. It ties together, , and into Fairfield County. I've created several others, notably for California and Florida, and they've worked out pretty well. Regional footer templates should not be created willy-nilly. The list of regions of the United States can be used as a guide to see what can be created, but don't create them just for the sake of creating them (in other words, don't do it "because it's there"). See Category:Radio market footer templates for a current list of regional footers in use.

International borders
If a nearby region is across an international border (Canada or Mexico) or international waters (Caribbean islands), the non-U.S. regions can be grouped together, while labeling each group (U.S. and non-U.S.) with the name of the appropriate country. For example:

Displaying the country names/flags with or  help to visually label each side of the international border.

Documentation and categories
Documentation for templates is added with :

Using this template, the collapsible documention text is automatically included along with further details on how the navbox template is to be used. Any special instructions can be added to the Optional usage section. If there are any regional footer templates, add them to the See also section. The category is for that state's navigational boxes.

With this documentation, there's no need to create a documentation subpage.

Radio station placement
On how many templates should be a station be added?

Short answer: One, based on the station's city of license. KLOS is licensed to Los Angeles, California, so it goes in.

Longer answer: One, but there must be a very strong case to add it to a second (or, rarely, a third). Some examples:


 * WKTU is licensed to Lake Success, New York. Lakes Success is in Nassau County, part of . However, this particular station transmits from New York City (see the KTU article for full details), so it is also included in.
 * WROV-FM is licensed to Martinsville, Virginia. Martinsville is in the Southside Virginia region, placing it in . However, due to the station's transmitter location, it booms like a local in (and broadcasts to) Roanoke, Virginia, so it is in also.
 * WKLC-FM is licensed to St. Albans, West Virginia. St. Albans in the Charleston metropolitan area, which puts it in . However, its transmitter location gives it a strong signal into Huntington, so it's added to.
 * WHOM is licensed to Mount Washington, New Hampshire with 50,000 watts and an antenna that is on top of a mountain, 1,141 m above average terrain. In addition to, the signal's reach puts it in three more templates (this case is very rare).

Adding a single station to too many templates can lead to unnecessary maintenance in the future, especially if that station broadcasts in HD with multiple subchannels. With proper investigation, only the very necessary templates can be determined and applied. If a station is added to multiple templates, then those templates are then added to the station article.

Template examples
Over the years, I have made many edits to many navboxes. I've tried to make them make them better organized with what I've learned, especially with all the translators, LPFM, and HD radio stations on the air (it can get quite confusing). I've also created static mock-ups to further demonstrate how this organization can be done. This list is a portion of the navboxes (live templates) I've edited.

California

 * LA Radio
 * San Jose Radio
 * Santa Rosa Radio
 * SF Radio
 * Regional footer templates
 * Greater Los Angeles Radio
 * Sacramento Valley California Radio
 * San Francisco Bay Area Radio
 * San Joaquin Valley California Radio

Connecticut

 * Bridgeport Radio
 * Danbury Radio
 * Stamford-Norwalk Radio
 * Regional footer template
 * Fairfield County Connecticut Radio

Florida

 * Miami Radio
 * Orlando Radio
 * Regional footer templates
 * Central Florida Radio
 * Florida Panhandle Radio
 * Miami Metropolitan Area Radio
 * North Central Florida Radio
 * Southwest Florida Radio

Illinois

 * Chicago Radio
 * Regional footer template
 * Chicago Metropolitan Area Radio

Massachusetts

 * Boston Radio

Nebraska

 * Special case
 * Norfolk NE Radio

New York

 * Albany Radio
 * Hudson Valley Radio
 * Long Island Radio
 * Middletown-Newburgh NY Radio
 * Radio in New York City
 * Saratoga Radio
 * Regional footer templates
 * Capital District NY Radio
 * New York Metro Markets

Ohio

 * Akron Radio
 * Cleveland Radio
 * Regional footer templates
 * Northeast Ohio Radio
 * Northwest Ohio Radio

Pennsylvania

 * Allentown Radio
 * Philly Radio
 * Pittsburgh Radio
 * Reading Radio
 * Regional footer templates
 * Delaware Valley Radio
 * South Central Pennsylvania Radio

Utah

 * Logan Radio
 * Salt Lake City Radio
 * Special case
 * Central Utah Radio

Vermont

 * Bennington and Rutland Radio
 * Brattleboro-Keene Radio

Washington

 * Seattle Radio
 * Special case
 * Northwest Washington Radio

Washington, D.C.

 * Washington Radio

Wyoming

 * Special cases
 * Bighorn Basin Radio
 * South Central Wyoming Radio
 * Southwestern Wyoming Radio

Notes: