h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The St Louis Radio Guide - A4521584
Author: broelan - are you ready for the summer? - U155058

I hope I've done this right, I haven't tried updating anything before.

This is an update of A1155827.

It occurred to me this morning that the radio station I'm listening to isn't the same one Rakodraug had on his list. When I went through the entry I found several small things that needed to be changed and updated.

I've updated the table with new links and format descriptions and removed the ratings as they're the most likely to change frequently. I edited the intro a bit regarding recommendations for specific tastes to reflect the changes I made to the table.

If I've missed anything or done this incorrectly, just say the word!

Now I see I should have put 'update' in the title...
Sorry!

Two suggestions broe:

1) Use the tag with the links to the stations' websites, so that the name of the station rather than the url appears in the data box and the body of the entry doesn't get narrowed and squashed to the left hand side of the page.

2) Perhaps a link to http://www.npr.org in the 'Style' column for KMWU?

NPR link added

As for links to the stations, I wonder why that didn't come up in the original PR thread? The tag shouldn't be necessary, as it's the url typed out between the tags making the links appear that way. I can only assume it was done that way so as not to repeat the previous column. Perhaps I can change them to the stations' nicknames, but I'm not sure how consistent I can be with that.

I'll devote some more time to it later today or over the weekend.

Thanks for having a look!

Looking good - let me know when you're ready for this to become the Update.

How's this coming along?

I was wondering the same thing...

Though I've honestly thought that an entry like this is stands a good chance of being out-dated rather quickly. Raido stations here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania change format with some frequency to meet market demands.

But as a moment in time thing, this is very thorough!

Now that Broe's back, I'm just bouncing this back up.

Thanks I didn't realise I'd gotten a response after I went to lunch.

This is a very changeable piece, and I thought that back when Raukodrag first put it up. I wasn't a scout then, so I don't know what the response was in PR, but I figured so long as there was someone here to keep it current I could make an effort when necessary.

But Jimi's right, and this is already outdated - again. I can try to keep up with it, or I can make some final changes and leave it as it stands, with further updates in the threads attached.

Any suggestions?
Otherwise I'll try to get this to a point I'm happy with later this week, and be done with it (for the time being anyway).

Thanks guys!

How about writing the intro to spell out that this is a snapshot of radio stations as of 2005?

One other thing, which is going to require a lot of rethinking I'm afraid, is that tables don't show up on mobile devices. If there's a way of rpesenting the information using Subheaders, bulletted lists and other non-tabled formatting, it would be a more useful entry...

Welcome back by the way - we missed you!

I hadn't forgotten about this, I've been finishing up some other EG projects. I figured this would be a quick fix so I put it off, but now with a bit of research I see it's going to need a major overhaul. I've found some good information and resources, but I'm going to need time to rework them. I'll get on it this afternoon.

Thanks for the nudge!

Okay, now this probably needs a fair bit of reviewing.

I've eliminated the tables.
I've also abandoned trying to include every single stop on the dial. I tried to stick to the major stations, mostly the ones with websites so readers can go to the pages and find out more about programming on their own. I've tried to make it clear that this is not even attempting to be a definitive list, but a 'guide' as it states in the title.

Admittedly, the hip-hop R&B section could use a bit more detail, but I can't get to a radio right now, and I'm not familiar with the playlists or their normal fare. I'll see what I can't come up with later this week (when a radio will be more accessible - although I've just discovered the 770 AM station and I'm eager to give that one a listen).

Is this somewhat more accessible, Jim?

Plus it gave me the opportunity to plug lots of other great Guide Entries - unless you think it's too link-heavy.

Two formatting changes only.

Where you have ... tags, pop ... tags inside, to space them out and make them easier to read.

Move the 'More Information' links to a reference section inside the tags at the end, like this:









Aside from that, I think it's vastly imporved. Well done!

Thanks Jims

I put the tags in where there was a description of the station, but not where there was just a list of stations. Does this look alright, or should I make it consistent throughout?

And if you don't mind saving me the trouble of trying to remember where to find character codes, what is the proper way to use an ampersand in an entry? I know there's a code for it, but aren't there a couple of different ways to use it? It's usually just easier to write out 'and', but "R and B" doesn't look as nice as "R & B".

Figured out the ampersand, and put in a brief description under hip hop.

I think I'm done with it

Sorry for the delay, but it's now updated! Phew - well done for sticking with this!

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'The St Louis Radio Guide' to 'The St Louis Radio Guide'.

What an odd message.

Thanks Jims! And thanks for not forgetting about it