Y2K

Like an approaching Snowmagedon the eclipse is being super hyped. Should we be surprised? No. 

CTV London also had 500 pair of eclipse glasses to giveaway and ran out after about 30 minutes but the lineups continued for hours. 
  https://london.ctvnews.ca/a-promotion-giving-away-free-solar-eclipse-glasses-was-a-success-but-not-all-were-happy-1.6836276

Much ado about nothing 

Rogers Channel 100 will have Full Toronto coverage.
Boom 97.3 will have eclipse music. 
This is going to be very exciting.
 

paterson1 wrote:

CFPL (CTV London) sure has a lot of land and greenery around the studio building and parking lot.  The Blackburn's always had good facilities and nice buildings.  I wonder if the TV building and property will be put up for sale like in Kitchener.  

Unlike Kitchener, CTV London has its tower and transmitter on the studio property, so I would doubt there would be a move off that property unless the tower were to be relocated at some point.

Here's how I look at it, as someone who has seen a total solar eclipse and had his mind blown by it, and as someone who's a working newsperson heavily involved in my station's eclipse coverage:

It's a very big deal for several very good reasons that really make it several stories. The scientific phenomenon of the eclipse is one of them, of course, and I've found it takes a lot of explaining to convey just why it's so rare, so special and so spectacular. A lot of people have seen partial solar eclipses, decided they're not that exciting (true!), and don't realize just how different a total eclipse is. 

Safety is another big piece of the story we have to tell. "Don't look at the sun" should be a simple message, but the nature of totality makes it confusing - you do want to look at the sun with your glasses on, except that if you're in totality (not you, Toronto folks!), you MUST take the glasses off during totality or you'll be sitting in complete darkness for over three minutes and you'll miss the whole show. No matter how many explainer stories I've put out there, I find I keep having to repost them because not everyone has gotten the message, even now.

And most of all, a total solar eclipse is a profoundly human story. Between 1979 and 2017 there were no total solar eclipses in Canada or the continental US, and so anyone under 55 or so never had an easy chance to experience one (myself included!) Then 2017 hit and millions of people were either in the path or traveled to it, which in turn piqued a lot of interest in this one. Many of us who tasted the experience once wanted to feel it again, which means a lot of people are on the road right now getting ready for totality. 

Everyone ends up with an eclipse story, and there will be a LOT of them to tell - plus all the stories we have to tell about what happens when hundreds of thousands of people show up and then leave so quickly. We don't get traffic here in Rochester, at least not in any way a driver on the 401 or QEW would recognize. We will have lots of traffic tomorrow, and the preparation for that is a lot of news, too. 

So it's a science story, a safety story and a huge human story of mass travel. We have about 700,000 people here in Monroe County (Rochester) and could add another 500,000 for the day tomorrow. Niagara Falls could get a million across both sides. And that's just one slice of a long stretch of totality from Mexico to the Maritimes that will expose more people to totality than any previous eclipse in history. 

There's a LOT to plan for and a LOT to talk about, and for whatever reason a lot of skepticism and cynicism that seems to surround what should be one of the few truly good news stories out there - a total solar eclipse is provided free to anyone in its path, and there's nothing intrinsically political or divisive about it, or shouldn't be, anyway. 

Anyway, I've wrapped up a six-part series of features for WXXI in which I try to provide as much of my knowledge and experience to our listeners as I can, and I'll be part of our live coverage all day Monday, including traffic coverage in the afternoon. 

It's a tough balance between "there's so much important information we need to convey about this unicorn of an event" and "we're overwhelming you with this information." 

It's a tough balance between "you can really hurt yourself if you don't take safety precautions" and "this is a really amazing thing that is very safe to see when you do take safety precautions," and we don't want to be sensationalistic about any of it.

It's a tough balance between "our community is going to have a ton of extra people here so use some common sense and get some shopping done ahead of time" and "it's time to panic." 

We're trying to get it right. 

And like Y2K, if we get to the end of the day tomorrow and everyone enjoys the spectacle safely and gets home without trouble, it's not because the whole event was a nothing-burger. It's also because a lot of people spent a lot of time learning and planning and fixing potential problems before they could become actual problems. That's another story of the eclipse, too!
 

Now THIS is my idea of what a solar eclipse should taste like. Er- I mean, look like!

It's all just one big coverup.

 

ED1 wrote:

Considering that there are many TV stations in the US big and small along the path of totality that are doing local live coverage of the eclipse (along with a couple of the national networks), I don't think the Toronto stations (except the CBC) are doing enough. 

Keep in mind Toronto doesn't get to experience totality. You've got to get to Hamilton and points south for the really big show. It makes sense that CHCH will be all over it, and it makes sense for the CBC, since the path of totality covers eastern Ontario, southern Quebec and out to the Maritimes and Newfoundland. 

For a local Toronto station to get too deep into live coverage, it will be covering something most of its audience won't actually be seeing. (Although there will be a huge traffic impact - the last place on earth I'd want to be Monday afternoon is the QEW heading from Toronto to Hamilton!)

I just checked the Buffalo Radio Discussions site and there hasn't been one post or comment about tomorrow's eclipse, or about any local coverage.  I find that a little strange since Buffalo is one of the best locations to view this rare event.  Apparently Niagara Falls Ont. today was more like a July Sunday afternoon with thousands more tourists than normal.  Hopefully even if there are some clouds people will still be able to view the event.  But if it is cloudy it will still be like night for a brief time. Hamilton will also have a full eclipse. 

Rogers is going heavy with The Jays home opener...


 

I understand the significants; but for me it has been way overplayed.  Can't wait until it's over.

newsguy1 wrote:

Donald Trump is taking credit for the eclipse... he says, and I quote, "The eclipse... it's the best eclipse in history...It's an omen of my next term in office... I had very smart people cause this eclipse.  No eclipse has ever been planned so well.  Biden doesn't like this eclipse, so sad... if it were up to him there would be no eclipse, he'd stop America from seeing it.  And don't worry about staring up at the eclipse.. just one injection of bleach will cure you, don't listen to Fauci. he hates eclipses.."

 
Newsguy1, you get an A for capturing the tone and language of The Orange That Walks Like A Man. Nicely done.

this thread was overplayed..... 

My apologies in advance for inflicting this on anyone who hits play...