Forecaster has diction problem, says RTÉ

WEATHER forecaster Joan Blackburn was told her diction was a problem after being dropped from the panel of television broadcasters last summer, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) heard yesterday.

RTÉ executive Isobel Charlton reported Ms Blackburn had done “fine” on the other broadcast criteria laid down by the station but she had a problem with the “clear diction” criterion.

Giving evidence, Ms Blackburn said Ms Charlton brought up an incident where Ms Blackburn had expressed reservations when asked to inform viewers of bulletins by non-meteorologists whom the station hired to present the weather on Network Two. “Personally, I didn’t want to do it,” she said. But she agreed after discussing it with her colleagues.