Today’s column by Tyler Brulé in IHT tackles an intriguing issue: the one of map used in weather forecasts:

“
In the early ’90s, it struck me as odd that British broadcasters never bothered to inform viewers about the weather across the Channel. (…) The pinballing around Europe later revealed that this weather wall stretched to infinity and included most European countries.
(…)
No matter how many new discount airlines connect Europeans to new destinations at ever lower prices, most TV channels still treat their viewers as if they are house-bound and at most might pop to the store for a carton of milk. There’s still no sense, if we’re to look at something as simple as the weather bulletin, that there is this bigger entity called Europe and millions of people, everyday, conduct business and personal relationships across multiple borders.
(…)
the fact is that the media is one of the last sectors to embrace an increasingly global, connected market. Viewers, readers and listeners want to feel they’re part of something bigger, not fenced in by borders that might limit choice, opportunity and freedom.“

Why do I blog this? living in Switzerland and often traveling to other european countries, I’ve also been struck by this issue (except that the swiss radio I am following often give forecast for both Geneva and Lyon). I found this phenomenon intriguing, especially regarding how certain representations (maps) may help forming mental representation of otherness/alterity (other spaces).

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 8:30 am and is filed under SpacePlace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.