Western alienation and Toronto time

[dumpthemonarchy]

In the Vancouver Sun newspaper this morning, Fri. Feb 24, page A15, there is an ad by the CBC for the Olympics. It states that two curling matches and one hockey game will be at 7 am ET, 11:30 am ET, and 3:00 pm ET. All the times are eastern time. So why do people in BC, reading a Vancouver newspaper, need to constantly make a mental adjustment for Toronto time? Why is it always necessary to subtract three hours? Why doesn't Toronto make an adjustment for our time zone?

I phoned the Sun newspaper and they said they do not control the content of ads unless they are offensive. If Westerners are not willing to make a fuss on something as fundamental as Torontocentric time being constantly imposed on the West, then Western alienation is a fable. This is an offensive ad because it states eastern time is the standard and everyone must adhere to it. And we do.

These curling matches and hockey game are not in Toronto, they are in Italy. If the media was "global" they would perhaps use Greenwich Mean Time, and local time. But hey, let's have a good laugh here.

 

[tracy]

I'm a BC girl born and raised and this just doesn't bother me. Sorry.

 

[missile]

Toronto is large enough to have provincial status. Why haven't they thought of this?

 

[Hank C]

yes its kind of annoying.....however the same thing happens in the US. Eastern Standard time in the US is like Toronto time in Canada

 

[Jersay]

Tough luck and suck up to it.

I am out west but I am born in the East, so you subtract 3. Besides, now you get to watch the late shows you can't in Eastern Canada. Think about it, I think we have it good.

 

[Finder]

Toronto doesn't have it's own time zone!?

Anyhow we didn't pick this, nor was it our choice. We live in a mostly freemarket capitalism when it comes to television and what not and to remain competive these are just the times they chose to chose. As soon as the West out paces centrial Canada it may change. But you also have to factor in the East coast of the USA as well and that it's immportance would have to change. So don't do what everyone else likes to do in the nation and blame Toronto!

 

[Hank C]

Anyhow we didn't pick this, nor was it our choice. We live in a mostly freemarket capitalism when it comes to television and what not and to remain competive these are just the times they chose to chose. As soon as the West out paces centrial Canada it may change. But you also have to factor in the East coast of the USA as well and that it's immportance would have to change. So don't do what everyone else likes to do in the nation and blame Toronto!

yea its not an issue....

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

It is obvious that the east will take care of us and we should be grateful for whatever we get. Some just love the gatekeepers who master over us. Hey, no one's hitting me over the head with a stick, things are great. That could be why they say people in BC and Alberta-the West, have no culture.

I especially like on Sportsnet, where they have Sportsnet "Pacific" and show eastern times for hockey games. Huh? Duh. Gee, this was supposed to be "our" little bit of the market. If it is the west coast version, why would we care what time a hockey game is at in Toronto, Montreal or New York? they do not worry about our time zone.

Don Taylor is shown on billboards in Vancouver, "Eastern scores? If I have time." Many plastic words here in the media for our consumption.

 

[DasFX]

Why is it always necessary to subtract three hours? Why doesn't Toronto make an adjustment for our time zone?

First of all, the CBC ads are national ads; they are not specific to one region. Second of all, the Eastern Time zone does not just encompass Toronto. Most of Ontario and Quebec are on this time. Now if I have an advertisement for a TV show, I probably want to cater to the majority of the people. So since this time is applicable to the almost 21 million Canadian majority, it would be smart to target them first.

I don't see how this is "Western" Alienation. If they choose Pacific Time, people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba would still have to adjust.

So really, grow up! Do you think folks in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California complain about these types of things? Do you think they cry when NBC says "8PM Eastern, 7 Central"?

What's next, you going to complain the sun rises in the East (Toronto) and that is western alienation?

 

[Jersay]

Sad really sad argument or topic.

I got an idea :idea:

WHO CARES

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

This issue means lackey Westerners have no problem always accomodating Ontario and Quebec all the time. Pursuing your own interests come in many forms.

I recall on the National news on CBc, Peter Mansbridge, saying "6:00 pm 'our time'". And he meant Eastern time, it just goes without saying. The Ottawa/Toronto/Montreal axis operates on one time zone. Just like unitary the states France, Britain and Spain.

We need federalism that is not just in politics, but in the minds of all easterners, and thus far, it is not. The branch plant mentality prevails.

 

[Jersay]

If they don't want to listen about Western Time who cares. This is the stupidest topic that regards federalism that I ever heard.

And CBC and others have all the different time zones so what the heck are you babbling about.

If it isn't so hard to look at the bottom it has all the time zones.

 

[Lotuslander]

Don't blame Toronto for imposing Eastern time on us Westerners, the blame clearly lies with Sir Sandford Fleming for inventing standard time in the first place. Sir Sandford first immigrated to Upper Canada from Scotland and eventually settled in Peterborough, Ontario after living in Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Toronto. Later on in life he moved to Halifax where he built a beautiful house overlooking the Northwest Arm and Dingle Tower.

I think one of the reasons Westerners are not up in arms about Eastern time being impossed on them is that it is really not a big deal. Ontario and Quebec have almost two thirds of the country's population and if advertisers want to focus on that group and offend Westerners well, it is a free country.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Canada is made up of many time zones, and the fact that Ontario/Quebec has 2/3 of the country's population is not reason enough that we should adhere to their perspective all the time. But go ahead if you like. Westerners must tell the east what they want or easterners with blithely assume that what they prefer is what the country prefers. Protesting works ladies and germs.

Perhaps easterners are alienated from us westerners. CTV means Cdn TV, the CBC likes to say in its ads that it has a "Cdn" perspective, if these networks do, then they have to always look beyond Ont/Que in basic ways like time. Time and space, fundamental units of existence.

 

[DasFX]

Re: RE: Western alienation and Toronto time

I recall on the National news on CBc, Peter Mansbridge, saying "6:00 pm 'our time'". And he meant Eastern time, it just goes without saying.

Well his time is the eastern time since the CBC studio where he is broadcasting from is in Toronto

 

[DasFX]

Re: RE: Western alienation and Toronto time

Canada is made up of many time zones, and the fact that Ontario/Quebec has 2/3 of the country's population is not reason enough that we should adhere to their perspective all the time.

So what time should they refer to? You Westerners don't have one single time; you have three time zones (Pacific, Mountain and Central)

Eastern time zone has the most people in both the US and Canada, the largest cities in both countries (Toronto and New York) and both national capitals. Hmmm, I wonder why they use Eastern Time the most?

Why is the fact that Ontario/Quebec has 2/3 of the country's population important? Well, since it is people who use this concept of time and then it makes sense to focus on the majority of them.

How come Atlantic Canadians aren't up in arms? Newfoundland has it even trickier with that half hour difference.

Maybe to be fair, we can rotate through the six time zones, so that each one is the dominant time zone for two months a year!

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Peter M did this "our time" a while ago, but if he is supposedly aware of what goes on in the country, and offers a "Cdn" perspective, then he and the CBC and media in general are going to have be more aware what goes on in eight other provinces. The public is not supposed to watch the news in a docile manner, vigilance is required. It's not the EBC, the Eastern Broadcasting Corporation.

Hey, we have a lazy media in Vancouver, just get spoonfed eastern time info. It could be why people often think TV anchors are Barbies, pretty things mouthing words they do not understand.