I'll not hear a bad word said about the people delivering the information, I have no problem with their pronunciation. I've never understood why people have a problem with this. I think it's become a sort of standing joke regardless of whether there's any subsance to it.
As for the usefulness of the information I think there is a question mark there. I think there are a few things on Radio that fill gaps but is of questionable value to anyone listening.
E.g. Who really cares if the ISEQ is up 2 points today, or who the main movers were. The main movers are almost always AIB, BofI, CRH, and one or two others.
Anyone who is genuinely interested (a very very small percentage of the population) isn't relying on Radio 1 to update them.
If something HUGE happens in the markets like Elan collapsing, then fine, that affects peoples pensions, other than that don't waste time talking about it.
Similarly with the traffic, if it's just the usual spots are as busy as usual then don't waste time with a traffic report.
-Rd