User:DrChuck68/Radio station regional navbox

This is an essay on the structure of radio station regional navigation boxes in the United States.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

This page in a nutshell:

Radio station regional navigation boxes should be easy to navigate and maintain for both readers and editors. A consistent structure across all navboxes does just that.
This structure applies to navboxes for U.S. radio stations, as that is where I have most familiarity.

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 {{Navbox}}.

Name and title (Where am I?)

{{Navbox
| name      = (name of template)
| title     = Radio stations in (name of region)
| bodyclass = hlist
| state     = {{{state|autocollapse}}}

| above =

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 |name=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:

As you all may know, back in 2009, Nielsen field a DMCA Takedown Notice (via OTRS ticket #2008091610055854), which caused all TV region templates to be removed because they had Nielsen television "DMA" information. Since Arbitron's radio "DMA" information is now owned by Nielsen, this will carry over.

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 § Below (Where can I go?). 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:

|title=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:

|title=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:

|title=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, |above=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

| group1 = By [[AM broadcasting|AM frequency]]
| list1  =
* [[WAAA|550]]
* [[WBBB|610]]
* 720
** [[WBAA]]
** [[WCAA]]

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

| group2 = [[Apex (radio band)|Apex]]/[[Very high frequency|VHF]] [[FM broadcasting|FM]]
| list2  =

| group3 = By [[Shortwave radio|SW frequency]]
| list3  =

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

| group4 = By [[FM broadcasting|FM frequency]]
| list4  =
* [[WEAA|88.1]]
* [[WECC|90.1]]
* 91.5
** [[WFAQ-FM]]
** [[WFAR]]

{{Navbox|child
| group1 = [[Low-power broadcasting|LPFM]]
| list1  =
* [[WGAA-LP|104.5]]
* [[WGAB-LP|106.9]]
| group2 = [[Broadcast relay station|Translator]]s
| list2  =
* [[W235AA|94.9]]
* [[W237AB|95.3]]
}}

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

| group5 = Via [[Subsidiary communications authority|FM subcarrier]]
| list5  =

| group6 = [[NOAA Weather Radio]]<br />frequency
| list6  =

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

| group7 = [[HD Radio|Digital radio]]<br />by frequency & subchannel
| list7  =
* [[WAAA|550]]
* [[WEAA|88.1-1]]
* [[WECC|90.1-1]]
* [[WECC|90.1-2]]
* [[WFAQ-FM|91.5-1]]
* [[WBBB|91.5-2]]
* WQAA
** [[WQAA|92.7-1]]
** [[WQAA|92.7-2]]
* WQAC
** [[WQAC|92.7-1]]
** [[WQAC|92.7-2]]
** [[WQAC|92.7-3]]

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

| group8 = By [[Call signs in North America|call sign]]
| list8  =
* [[W235AA]]
* [[W237AB]]
* [[WAAA]]
* [[WBBB]]
* [[WBAA]]
* [[WCAA]]
* [[WEAA]]
* [[WECC]]
** [[WECC|HD2]]
* [[WFAQ-FM]]
** [[WBBB|HD2]]
* [[WFAR]]
* [[WGAA-LP]]
* [[WGAB-LP]]

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

| group9 = Internet
| list9  =
* [[Internet Radio Example]]

| group10 = Defunct
| list10  =
* [[WZQ]]
* [[WZZB (Anytown)|WZZB (98.5 FM)]]

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.

Below (Where can I go?)

| below = {{Regional footer template}} <!-- Optional, but can tie adjacent areas together -->

; Other nearby regions <!-- If no regional footer template above, text is simply "Nearby regions" -->
: [[Template:City A|City A]]
: [[Template:City B|City B]]
: [[Template:County C|County C]]

; See also
: [[List of radio stations in (name of state)]]

Nearby regions

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

The result of the discussion was keep for now, although editors in this area are encouraged to develop an alternative navigational system to replace this one.

As of April 2022^[update], 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 [[Wikipedia: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 § Title and above). It's a little confusing when the link says Wasatch Front and the destination navbox title is |title=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 {{Fairfield County Connecticut Radio}}. It ties together {{Bridgeport Radio}}, {{Danbury Radio}}, and {{Stamford-Norwalk Radio}} 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:

| below =
; Nearby regions &ndash; {{flagu|U.S.}}
: [[Template:City A|City A]]
: [[Template:City B|City B]]
: [[Template:City C|City C]]

; {{flagu|Mexico}}
: [[Template:Ciudad 1|Ciudad 1]]
: [[Template:Ciudad 2|Ciudad 2]]
: [[Template:Ciudad 3|Ciudad 3]]

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

Documentation and categories

Documentation for templates is added with {{Navbox documentation}}:

}}<noinclude>
{{Navbox documentation|3=
== Optional Usage ==
<!-- Optional, but do include any special instructions (or special parameters) that can be used with this template. -->

== See also ==
<!-- Optional, but do include any regional footer template(s) used in this template for easy access. -->
}} 
[[Category:(name of state) Arbitron market navigational boxes]]
</noinclude>

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 {{LA Radio}}.

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 {{Long Island Radio}}. However, this particular station transmits from New York City (see the KTU article for full details), so it is also included in {{Radio in New York City}}.
WROV-FM is licensed to Martinsville, Virginia. Martinsville is in the Southside Virginia region, placing it in {{Southside VA Radio}}. However, due to the station's transmitter location, it booms like a local in (and broadcasts to) Roanoke, Virginia, so it is in {{Roanoke-Lynchburg Radio}} also.
WKLC-FM is licensed to St. Albans, West Virginia. St. Albans in the Charleston metropolitan area, which puts it in {{Charleston WV Radio}}. However, its transmitter location gives it a strong signal into Huntington, so it's added to {{Huntington WV Radio}}.
WHOM is licensed to Mount Washington, New Hampshire with 50,000 watts and an antenna that is on top of a mountain, 1,141 meters (3,743 feet) above average terrain. In addition to {{Northeast Kingdom and Northern New Hampshire Radio}}, 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.

Nebraska

Special case^[b]
- {{Norfolk NE Radio}}

New York

{{Albany Radio}}
{{Hudson Valley Radio}}
{{Long Island Radio}}
{{Middletown-Newburgh NY Radio}}^[c]
{{Radio in New York City}}
{{Saratoga Radio}}
Regional footer templates^[a]
- {{Capital District NY Radio}}
- {{New York Metro Markets}}

Ohio

{{Akron Radio}}
{{Cleveland Radio}}
Regional footer templates^[a]
- {{Northeast Ohio Radio}}
- {{Northwest Ohio Radio}}

Pennsylvania

{{Allentown Radio}}
{{Philly Radio}}
{{Pittsburgh Radio}}
{{Reading Radio}}
Regional footer templates^[a]
- {{Delaware Valley Radio}}
- {{South Central Pennsylvania Radio}}

Utah

{{Logan Radio}}^[d]
{{Salt Lake City Radio}}
Special case^[b]
- {{Central Utah Radio}}

Vermont

{{Bennington and Rutland Radio}}^[e]
{{Brattleboro-Keene Radio}}^[e]

Washington

{{Seattle Radio}}
Special case^[b]
- {{Northwest Washington Radio}}

Washington, D.C.

{{Washington Radio}}

Wyoming

Special cases^[b]
- {{Bighorn Basin Radio}}
- {{South Central Wyoming Radio}}
- {{Southwestern Wyoming Radio}}

Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Described in § Regional footer template
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d While most navboxes will have the layout described above, there are some special cases. This usually happens with templates that cover a broad area where the population density is low, or there aren't many cities. In these cases, the groups are done by location or city of license.
^ I created the Middletown-Newburgh navbox, as Orange County stations were in both {{Hudson Valley Radio}} and {{Poughkeepsie Radio}}, leading to confusion.
^ I created the Logan navbox, as Logan is its own metropolitan area, separate from Salt Lake City, and warranted its own region.
^ ^a ^b I created the navbox for this region, as one did not exist previously.