Embattled Crossword Editor Stepping Away - For Now

The saga continues:

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.

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