Radio stations in Lancashire

Lancashire contains coastal towns, inland communities and several distinct urban audiences. A programme named for Preston and Blackburn addresses a different part of the county from one named for Burnley and Pendle. Neither should automatically stand for every place within the county. The Lancashire category gives both a wider geographical setting while the name of an individual edition supplies the more useful detail about its intended listeners. A broadcaster can share a wider programme across the county and still offer separately named local services. Radio for Lancashire can include energetic popular music, familiar older songs or speech about local and wider affairs. The county name alone does not determine the programme or imply that each hour is made independently in one town. A genuinely county-wide edition belongs here, as does a named local service whose coverage falls within Lancashire. A national service merely available in the area has a different scope. Looking at both format and the edition's stated audience makes it possible to distinguish neighbouring programmes without flattening their names into one county-wide identity.