[Reader-list] Fwd: HUNDREDS CLAIM CREDIT FOR NEW YORK TIMES SPOOF

[Monica Narula]

Monica Narula
Raqs
Sarai-CSDS
29 Rajpur Road
Delhi 110 054
www.raqsmediacollective.net
www.sarai.net


Begin forwarded message:

> From: New York Times Special Edition <special at nytimes-se.com>
> Date: 13 November 2008 4:34:40 AM GMT+05:30
> To: monica-sarai.net <monica at sarai.net>
> Subject: HUNDREDS CLAIM CREDIT FOR NEW YORK TIMES SPOOF
>
> November 12, 2008
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> CONTACT:
>    writers at nytimes-se.com
>    917-202-5479
>    718-208-0684
>    415-533-3961
>
> "SPECIAL" NEW YORK TIMES BLANKETS CITIES WITH MESSAGE OF HOPE AND  
> CHANGE
> Thousands of volunteers behind elaborate operation
>
>   * PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
>   * Ongoing video releases: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
>
>   * The New York Times responds: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/ 
> 2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/
>
> Hundreds of independent writers, artists, and activists are claiming
> credit for an elaborate project, 6 months in the making, in which 1.2
> million copies of a "special edition" of the New York Times were
> distributed in cities across the U.S. by thousands of volunteers.
>
> The papers, dated July 4th of next year, were headlined with
> long-awaited news: "IRAQ WAR ENDS". The edition, which bears the same
> look and feel as the real deal, includes stories describing what the
> future could hold: national health care, the abolition of corporate
> lobbying, a maximum wage for CEOs, etc. There was also a spoof  
> site, at
> http://www.nytimes-se.com/.
>
> "Is this true?  I wish it were true!" said one reader. "It can be  
> true,
> if we demand it."
>
> "We wanted to experience what it would look like, and feel like, to
> read headlines we really want to read. It's about what's possible, if
> we think big and act collectively," said Steve Lambert, one of the
> project's organizers and an editor of the paper.
>
> "This election was a massive referendum on change. There's a lot of
> hope in the air, but there's a lot of uncertainty too. It's up to all
> of us now to make these headlines come true," said Beka Economopoulos,
> one of the project's organizers.
>
> "It doesn't stop here. We gave Obama a mandate, but he'll need mandate
> after mandate after mandate to do what we elected him to do. He'll  
> need
> a lot of support, and yes, a lot of pressure," said Andy Bichlbaum,
> another project organizer and editor of the paper.
>
> The people behind the project are involved in a diverse range of
> groups, including The Yes Men, the Anti-Advertising Agency, CODEPINK,
> United for Peace and Justice, Not An Alternative, May First/People
> Link, Improv Everywhere, Evil Twin, and Cultures of Resistance.
>
> In response to the spoof, the New York Times said only, "We are  
> looking
> into it."  Alex S. Jones, former Times reporter who is an authority on
> the history of the paper, says: "I would say if youÕve got one,  
> hold on
> to it. It will probably be a collectorÕs item."
>
> -30-
>
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