The tiresome attention-seeker John Oliver – a man who manages to irritate in the same way yappy small dogs do – must have been rubbing his hands with delight at the way the New Zealand media obligingly lapped up his hijacking of Forest and Bird’s competition.
The line was spun that Oliver was making a point about American interference in foreign elections. Bullsh*t. He was doing what he has habitually done: making fun of a country he obviously regards as quaintly eccentric. What could provide a better example of New Zealand’s weirdness than the puteketeke, a reclusive native bird that engages in bizarre mating dances and eats its own feathers then vomits them up?
Even if there was a serious point behind Oliver’s prank, which I don’t believe for a moment, it was totally lost in the ensuing media fever. “Look, an overseas celebrity is paying attention to us!” It’s a ploy that never fails to excite gullible New Zealand media. And why not? It beats the hard yards of real journalism.
Most New Zealanders – i.e. those not employed in newsrooms – would have been left scratching their heads in puzzlement and asking what all the fuss was about. Most had never heard of the puteketeke and wondered whether it even existed.
Had the bird been referred to by its common name, the crested grebe, some would have recognised it. As it was, many wondered whether the puteketeke was a hoax – a non-existent species created so that Oliver could have a laugh at New Zealand’s expense, which was the real purpose of the exercise.
They might also have quite reasonably asked why, in 2023, we were being asked to name the bird of the century. There are 77 years still to go.
Forest and Bird will doubtless argue that its competition served the purpose of promoting awareness of vulnerable bird species. We certainly now know what a puteketeke is. But by buying into Oliver’s stunt, the media were complicit in an exercise designed to mock our odd little country on the edge of the planet.
That’s okay though, because it gave the team on TVNZ’s Breakfast show an excuse to wet themselves with excitement when the entirely predictable winner was announced. God help us all.
Karl du Fresne, a freelance journalist, is the former editor of The Dominion newspaper. He blogs at karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz. - where this article was sourced.
Even if there was a serious point behind Oliver’s prank, which I don’t believe for a moment, it was totally lost in the ensuing media fever. “Look, an overseas celebrity is paying attention to us!” It’s a ploy that never fails to excite gullible New Zealand media. And why not? It beats the hard yards of real journalism.
Most New Zealanders – i.e. those not employed in newsrooms – would have been left scratching their heads in puzzlement and asking what all the fuss was about. Most had never heard of the puteketeke and wondered whether it even existed.
Had the bird been referred to by its common name, the crested grebe, some would have recognised it. As it was, many wondered whether the puteketeke was a hoax – a non-existent species created so that Oliver could have a laugh at New Zealand’s expense, which was the real purpose of the exercise.
They might also have quite reasonably asked why, in 2023, we were being asked to name the bird of the century. There are 77 years still to go.
Forest and Bird will doubtless argue that its competition served the purpose of promoting awareness of vulnerable bird species. We certainly now know what a puteketeke is. But by buying into Oliver’s stunt, the media were complicit in an exercise designed to mock our odd little country on the edge of the planet.
That’s okay though, because it gave the team on TVNZ’s Breakfast show an excuse to wet themselves with excitement when the entirely predictable winner was announced. God help us all.
Karl du Fresne, a freelance journalist, is the former editor of The Dominion newspaper. He blogs at karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz. - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
The upside is it did increase donations to Forest and Bird’s competition - second thoughts, not sure if that's an upside or another downside.
Yes, indeed, God help us from drop-kicks like Oliver and even worse our very own Lame stream media.
Any other country would be thoroughly embarrassed to have a competition like this. Bird of the Century - what a joke!!
Bird of the Year is bad enough. It's not like the candidates actively participate. They just sit there chirping away, or not. A bit like the idiots who promote this sort of garbage.
Now Bird-Brain of the Year or the Century - that would be worth voting for and at least you would have some genuine reasons for making your pick!
NZ should encourage Oliver. Hopefully he will delve into many of the absurdities associated the current pro maori mania. Unlike locals he is almost immune to cancellation.The haka and kapahaka alone would seem to offer endless scope for lampoon. Then there are those curious welcome challenges featuring some pale mountain of allegedly impoverished blubber cavorting in a g string and grass skirt. The now fashionable facial bar code also offers great scope. Are all removable? All as a cost on the state? Then there is the Treaty reinterprettions. Was cannibalism a taonga? The number of invented words further scope for comment. Etc.
It doesn't seem to be even distinctly restricted to NZ ie not only a NZ bird but also found in Australia.
Only in NZ does it have that multi syllable name. Crested Grebe is more memorable than that name which I am having trouble remembering let alone spell.
NZ is so desperate to be a part of the world that any publicity is good publicity. Poor ole NZ just doesn’t understand that to most of the world it barely even exists except as a reference to Aus.
NZ birds - they are fab. Quirky, often unique and fascinating . So why do some of our brethren so mercilessly slaughter muttonbirds as their racial right?
Very interesting article, after the fact and the comments reflect the "NZ Clan with the catch up and say something".
If anyone, in NZ, had a brain, including Forest & Bird, the moment the first video clip, from John Oliver, hit YouTube - someone in Forest & Bird "should have bounced back with an alternative video"- did they no, and from what I have seen, where it not for TVNZ/News nobody in NZ would have known what John Oliver had done - unless you had watched YouTube.
I wonder how many New Zealander's know that John Oliver "milked the process" with a further 2 videos, one included Jimmy Kimmel (another US TV, Late Night Comedian/Host).
Had I heard of the Puteketeke prior no, so it was interesting to find out, from an overseas source, that we have a bird that "is also an endangered
species from amid our Native Flock".
Interesting, that over the past weeks, on Radio there had been an advert for the Competition - the bird being sponsored was the Kea - did not hear and or see anything else, print wise, about any other bird.
So thank you John Oliver.
Oliver denigrates this country constantly although he claims he likes NZ. He is condescending and irritating and the fact that the NZ media embrace him is bloody annoying. In due course he will slip up and insult our native culture - be interesting to see how accommodating we are then.
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