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Talk about Newsnight

Newsnight

Give a dog a bad name

  • Peter Barron
  • 20 Sep 07, 04:14 PM

AwoogaThanks to everyone who took part in our competition to name Newsnight's imaginary dog.

It's been a cautionary lesson in the dangers of inviting the viewer into the pet-naming process. A few of you came up with droll suggestions - I liked "Mervyn. Chasing his tail", "Warkies" and "Did you threaten to overrule him? maybe Diddy for short" - but I'm sorry to say the early leader didn't show a great deal of imagination on your part.

Last night it seemed certain the winner would be "Paxo", and frankly I thought we might have to overrule you. But then, like the Today programme before us, we fell victim to what was clearly a write-in campaign aimed at distorting the outcome of the vote.

From nowhere the name "Awooga" appeared and quickly gathered steam. By our deadline of 3pm today "Paxo" or variations thereof had 54 votes and "Awooga" had stormed up on the rails to...exactly the same number - 54. What to do?

In the current climate of budgetary restraint we thought it wouldn't be appropriate to have two imaginary dogs, so we've given ourselves the casting vote. On the grounds that "Awooga" was a pure-bred, if coordinated, suggestion whereas "Paxo" came in several mongrel variations, we hereby name the Newsnight dog "Awooga".

Having checked our urban slang dictionary we don't think it's a rude word, but perhaps you, the viewer, know better?

Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 06:14 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Tom McEwen wrote:

Finished that a bit quick didn't you? I was going to say of the cat was called "Socks" the dog should be called "Breaches"!!!

  • 2.
  • At 06:45 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Simon Shelley wrote:

I agree about the haste in closing the competition. Paxo was the obvious choice (assuming that the dog was a Rottweiler) so it seems that Jeremy has a least 50 plus friends at the 大象传媒 suggesting the ridiculous 'Awooga'. Incedentally, 108 votes in total? Fixed!!

  • 3.
  • At 06:50 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • scottish unwidow wrote:

Maybe the choice of name is Newsnight's contribution to the somewhat cringe-making Radio 4 series The Sex Lives of Us.

The first entry on awooga in the online urban slang dictionary:

"awooga of and or relating to sex and or sexual intercourse. comes from the sound of the horn of an old studenbaker.

"i havent got any awooga from her yet"
"I heard that they awooga"

Assume you'll have your studebaker horn blaring in the studio tonight.

  • 4.
  • At 07:39 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • legs wrote:

Studebaker or stud? If you got a horse I could give Jeremy riding lessons!!

  • 5.
  • At 07:49 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Bedd Gelert wrote:

"Last night it seemed certain the winner would be "Paxo", and frankly I thought we might have to overrule you."

Just as well you didn't, Mr Barron, or you might be looking for a new job..

Mind you in the current climate... the real role of the new pooch can be revealed :-

"Suspend the 20% budget cut or the dog gets shot..!'

  • 6.
  • At 10:22 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Josef Lanjri wrote:

What, you cant call the Newsnight dog Awooga, that's ridiculous!! The last ime I heard that was on the Lenny Henry Show, which was awful!!
After hearing Jeremy's dare for any of us with nothing better to do than name an imaginary animal I thought great, there's loads of us who'll do that purely to irritate him. I evntually get round to logging on to the Newsnight site and I find you've already chosen a name and closed the vote - pretty disappointing to say the least. Admitidally, I dont actually have any suggestions to name the unfortunate mutt (real or otherwise) but surely we can do better than Awooga??

  • 7.
  • At 11:23 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Phil Abbnett wrote:

It is a shame you are not trying to name a pair of dogs. If there were two (imaginary or real) then one could be called "Onion" and the other "Sage". Perhaps the person who had enough spare time on his hands to think up a competition to name an imaginary dog will have enough time to work out the relevance of these names. ;-) Best wishes.

  • 8.
  • At 11:38 PM on 20 Sep 2007,
  • Edward Weids wrote:

Oh, dear - another rigged vote, the voting cut short because the 大象传媒 was getting the 'wrong' submissions. The only name for the newshound has to be 'Paxo', of course.

With Black Water (the private security company, not that the Daily Telegraph hasn't heard of it) having its license withdrawn by non other than the US installed puppet regime in Iraq, the risk is that some of your more attentive viewers too might turn elsewhere...

All this obviously being a checkered joke (unless you are someone whose underpants is being relentlessly sniffed at) but can you really blame the Ayatollahs calling certain entities sAtAnIc?

  • 10.
  • At 12:04 AM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • Janet wrote:

Am I missing something here?

I am of course used to Jeremy Paxman's sneering attitude in general but this latest exercise seems to be mocking children who voted in a Blue Peter competition.

I think the attitude sums up the derision in which so many 大象传媒 employees hold the public who pay their salaries. Personally I have always also taken the rip out of people who vote in those ludicrous TV phone competitions but then again at least I am not actually commiting a criminal act of fraud in taking their money for competitions they have no chance of winning.

Your link to the Guardian website includes the following quote which is more eloquent than anything I can come up with:

"The feeling has always been that when alleged deception involves children it is a bit more serious."

Incidentally, with his well-informed analysis of news affairs, Adam Boulton on Sky News knocks the socks off anything the 大象传媒 seems to do nowadays and I would prefer his thoughtful yet incisive interviews over Paxman's bullying interrogations any day of the week.


  • 11.
  • At 09:04 AM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • wrote:

Wasn't 'awooga' the phrase that John "Fash the Bash" Fashanu use to shout during 'Gladiators'?! But I don't think you've checked your dictionaries enough:-

  • 12.
  • At 09:37 AM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • Matteo wrote:

Hey, what about Paxdog?

  • 13.
  • At 01:24 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • Japanbytes wrote:

You are all wrong, except that the voting closed too soon, I was too busy watching 24 news I also thought paxo would be good or sage and onion then stuffing then I realised it should have been 'niffuts' as everything seems to be going backwards.

  • 14.
  • At 02:32 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • wrote:

Awooga???? So it means sexual intercourse or excitement?? Oh ha ha ha!Poor imaginary dog! SO who hit the vote button that many times???? :-)

  • 15.
  • At 03:36 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • Cynthia Tyghts wrote:

i think the dog should be called Pants.

  • 16.
  • At 05:34 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • Annie wrote:

OK, I know I'm well past it in more ways than one, but what about PAXGI

From PAX-man
Ci = dog, as in Cor-gi
Ci mutates to gi.
Result Paxgi

  • 17.
  • At 08:13 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • steve robertson wrote:

I think that Cynthia is a very astute lady - and having a name like Tyghts has to give her some real authority in this heavy weight debate so surely it really should have been Pants. It goes so well with Socks ( not to mention Tyghts.......)

  • 18.
  • At 10:15 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • legs wrote:

Reading the chat from the week the stats on white differentials was very educative- the reference to nordic blondes got me thinking, its awite since Jeremny's told any 'blonde' jokes. Has he run out of juice?

  • 19.
  • At 10:15 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • legs wrote:

Reading the chat from the week the stats on white differentials was very educative- the reference to nordic blondes got me thinking, its awite since Jeremny's told any 'blonde' jokes. Has he run out of juice?

  • 20.
  • At 10:23 PM on 21 Sep 2007,
  • legs wrote:

Reading the chat from the week the stats on white differentials was very educative- the reference to nordic blondes got me thinking, its awite since Jeremny's told any 'blonde' jokes. Has he run out of juice?

  • 21.
  • At 01:16 PM on 22 Sep 2007,
  • Paul wrote:

This is scandalous... Just imagine if this competion had been open to kids of all ages and then they would have found that the whole thing had been rigged. I ask you...

My suggestion was going to be Paxo but I had two others, one was Pinstripe and the other was Sterling.

Sincerely
PR :(

  • 22.
  • At 01:57 PM on 22 Sep 2007,
  • p edwards wrote:

What? No votes for Gnasher?

  • 23.
  • At 04:19 PM on 22 Sep 2007,
  • Mat wrote:

Wasn't John Fashanu sued by Craig Charles claiming he owns the copyright on the phrase 'Awooga', I also seem to recall that he won his case. I would suggest you change the name before you become Craigs' second victim. The obvious name for a dog is Defor as in D for Dog but that's my humble opinion.

  • 24.
  • At 06:01 PM on 22 Sep 2007,
  • Mark wrote:

If it's a poodle, you could call it Tony Blair.

  • 25.
  • At 09:11 AM on 26 Sep 2007,
  • wrote:

The more important question is - Akabusi, Charles or Fashanu?

  • 26.
  • At 07:20 PM on 27 Sep 2007,
  • pippop wrote:

Awooga! Oh my gawd, you can't possibly call a dog THAT!

Awooga v. to embrace a cooking device.

  • 27.
  • At 12:30 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • William Murray wrote:

i think that rule 1 is, the name is good. Awooga certainly is a good name, better than Welsh Oranje Fan, or JB which some people tried calling it. :-S


Roflcopter

  • 28.
  • At 12:34 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • FERGAL wrote:

Awooga is a brill name!

"Here boy....here Awooga, good boy!"

  • 29.
  • At 02:14 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Tudey wrote:

Awooga rules. Great name.

  • 30.
  • At 02:35 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Meatalist wrote:

Awooga.
Brilliant!
I'm off down to the Deed Poll office to change the names of my two kids to Awooga. Why couldn't you have had this poll four years ago? It would have saved me a trip to town.

  • 31.
  • At 02:38 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Lloyd wrote:

Awooga is an excellent name. I heard one of Bill Murrays dogs has the same name!

  • 32.
  • At 02:40 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Kris Knackerbusi wrote:

Awooga!!! Awighty wight. This is gweat. Im so happee i may go and buy myself a new pair of denim dungerees.

  • 33.
  • At 03:00 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Fubble wrote:

Awooga! Awooga!

Excellent. A victory for democracy!

When and where will he be giving his first motivational speech? Battersea dogs home? RSPCA agm?

  • 34.
  • At 03:14 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • John F wrote:

Awooga is a fantastic name.

And on that note is the end of the show, see you next week and AWOOOOOOGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 35.
  • At 03:48 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Fubble wrote:

Awooga! Awooga!

Excellent. A victory for democracy!

When and where will he be giving his first motivational speech? Battersea dogs home? RSPCA agm?

  • 36.
  • At 04:38 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Pell wrote:

OMG LOLZ INNIT - They called it Awooga, just like that Record Breaker Acabussi used to say OMG Rule 1 LOLOCAUST!!!

  • 37.
  • At 06:21 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • wrote:

That's a paddlin' result !

Awooga

What a cracking name

  • 38.
  • At 07:03 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • coconut man wrote:

its a pity this vote closed so early
I like the name Skip-skip the dog.you can picture him now. a bit overweight, probably snarls a bit especially to new people and getting on a bit
what about Pell-i think that he would be a really stupid dog i think-everyone would love it but not know why. probably should be put down really
i have other names like simmo, wackadu, parker or trishadam that i think would have been suitable ames for a dog

frankly paxo is just a silly name

  • 39.
  • At 07:22 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Bill Murray Fan wrote:

Brilliant, I absolutely love the name Awooga, I hope this gets announced on the newsnight program that the 大象传媒 do listen to the voters!

  • 40.
  • At 07:37 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Bill Murray Fan wrote:

Brilliant, I absolutely love the name Awooga, I hope this gets announced on the newsnight program that the 大象传媒 do listen to the voters!

  • 41.
  • At 07:52 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • ripple_effect wrote:

Awooga is a great name if you disagree i've got a pitch fork with your name on. AWOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGAAAA

  • 42.
  • At 08:26 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Mr Murdoch wrote:

The great thing about the name Awooga is it has a soothing aura about it. I can imagine training being easy, such as telling him to do different things such as RULE 1 etc.

  • 43.
  • At 10:19 PM on 05 Oct 2007,
  • Fat_Kid wrote:

Awooooga, sure beats the stuffing out of Paxo!! Awwoooooooogaaaa!!! :)

  • 44.
  • At 06:12 PM on 11 Oct 2007,
  • Rafalutionary wrote:

Awooga, aww what a sweet name. Dress the dog in dungarees and it'll look amazin. roflcopter

  • 45.
  • At 07:04 PM on 11 Oct 2007,
  • Gary Speed wrote:

This is a grape time for dogs everywhere.

  • 46.
  • At 07:14 PM on 11 Oct 2007,
  • Fork wrote:

Totally agree that you should take the clunge and call it Awooga!

  • 47.
  • At 04:08 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • wrote:

Are all the people from 25 down one and the same person??
And did that same person vote multiple times??

  • 48.
  • At 05:53 PM on 15 Oct 2007,
  • born for this day wrote:

A waste of our general abilities...

:O

  • 49.
  • At 06:37 PM on 18 Oct 2007,
  • THE BUSE wrote:

ALWIGHT! ANOTHER WOLD WECORD! Awooga to you all, congratulations and a mighty fist pump biggin up the Newsnight massive. Right, lets get paxman off the show and replace him with KRISS KEZIE UCHE CHUKWU DURU AKABUSI MBE MA, Imagine the great man livening up the dull interviews with his bellowing laugh and mighty enthusiasm.

AWOOGA!

  • 50.
  • At 03:20 PM on 29 Oct 2007,
  • Derek Redmond wrote:

I think it's a rubbish name. The silver medal of names. This name needs to be put to sleep and the dog neutered for sure.

  • 51.
  • At 03:41 PM on 29 Oct 2007,
  • Derek Redmond wrote:

I think it's a rubbish name. The silver medal of names. The name should be put to sleep and the dog neutered for sure, for everyone's safety.

  • 52.
  • At 10:58 PM on 18 Mar 2008,
  • fergal hunter wrote:

54+ votes and you still don't know?

This post is closed to new comments.

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