The longtime editor of two major crossword puzzle series is temporarily stepping away from his editorial role, the puzzles’ publishers announced Monday, three days after FiveThirtyEight published an investigation into accusations of plagiarism against him.
The subject of the investigation, Timothy Parker, edits both the USA Today Crossword and the syndicated Universal Crossword. The copyright for both puzzles is owned by Universal Uclick (formerly the Universal Press Syndicate). According to an analysis of a newly completed database, 65 puzzles edited by Parker perfectly replicated themes and theme answers that were originally published in New York Times puzzles, with some using the same clues and grids. Hundreds more USA Today and Universal puzzles, edited by Parker, were re-published in those same two outlets with extremely minor changes and often under fake author names.More of article here.
A group of eagle-eyed puzzlers, using digital tools, has uncovered a pattern of copying in the professional crossword-puzzle world that has led to accusations of plagiarism and false identity.
Since 1999, Timothy Parker, editor of one of the nation’s most widely syndicated crosswords, has edited more than 60 individual puzzles that copy elements from New York Times puzzles, often with pseudonyms for bylines, a new database has helped reveal. The puzzles in question repeated themes, answers, grids and clues from Times puzzles published years earlier. Hundreds more of the puzzles edited by Parker are nearly verbatim copies of previous puzzles that Parker also edited. Most of those have been republished under fake author names.
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