View From d'Isle

Living In The Time Warp...
by Jean d'Isle

eter Jennings and I were having dinner together again the other night, as we do almost every weekday evening -- me, consuming vegetarian fare; him, filling me in on national and world events as compiled by ABC World News Tonight.

The story that caught my attention this particular evening was about the continuing difficulty we time-zone challenged states face during national elections. How do we ensure that the fundamental voting right of every citizen of this great nation is not undermined by almost instantaneous, real-time reporting on voting trends and results that may present voters in the western states with a fait accompli? "The good news is, you still have time to vote. The bad news is, your guy already lost."

In order to remedy this electronic disenfranchisement, the government has moved to place certain reporting restrictions on a recalcitrant news media.

But what, you may ask, is the government doing about the more serious problem of day-to-day reporting on major sports events? Absolutely nothing. Delayed broadcasting has been a mixed blessing. While it has allowed fans in the westernmost state of Hawaii to enjoy Monday Night Football, the recent AL and NL playoffs and the World Series at a reasonable viewing hour, it has required extraordinary measures on the part of both fans and local sportscasters to avoid accidental compromise of a score.

Local TV newscasters must resort to warning their viewers that a sports score is about to be posted., so that they may "avert their gaze" from the screen until the score is removed. If you happen to stumble on a station while the score is still posted, sorry about that, Charlie! Hawaii sports fans have learned that channel surfing is like Russian roulette, and CNN and ESPN are loaded chambers.

Nor is TV the only potential source of unwelcome sports information. I was on the Internet last week when an Atlanta fan gleefully posted that the Braves were up 10 runs. Sort of took the edge off watching the game, which wouldn't air in Hawaii for 3 more hours.

I have no solutions to this distressing situation born of technology, TV markets and the immutable shape of the planet. I would ask, though, that you Internet players who enjoy a geographic advantage over us islanders be sensitive to the time warp and refrain from gratuitous sports reporting. Peter does quite well in keeping us informed, thank you.

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Jean d'Isle is a retired naval officer living in Hawaii. During his military career he served in a number of overseas assignments, including Germany, England, Spain, Viet Nam and Puerto Rico. Following his retirement, he was an adjunct faculty member of Hawaii Pacific University and is currently under contract with the U.S. Navy at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor.

Jean's column, View From d'Isle, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.