Timothy Parker (puzzle designer): Difference between revisions
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==Puzzle career== |
==Puzzle career== |
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In November 1996, Parker founded the “Daily Crossword,” one of the first online syndicated crossword puzzles with CNN (link) among his first clients.<ref name=SYND>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Universal Crossword by Timothy Parker | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''syndication.andrewsmcmeel.com''| date = | url =http://syndication.andrewsmcmeel.com/puzzles/crosswords | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref> By early 1997, Parker’s puzzle became the “Universal Crossword” syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate to hundreds of newspapers and clients worldwide. Parker has been the senior editor for Universal Crosswords for 20 years.<ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Printable Daily Crosswords for April 2015 | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''freedailycrosswords.com''| date = | url =http://freedailycrosswords.com/printable-daily-crosswords-april-2015/ | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Daily crossword puzzle | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''denverpost.com''| date = | url =http://www.denverpost.com/games/daily-crossword/ | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref> Parker added multiple new games to syndication including “Universal Wordsearch,” “Universal Trivia,” “Cryptic Crosswords,” “Cryptogram” and others.<ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =TIMOTHY PARKER (PUZZLE DESIGNER) | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''self.gutenberg.org''| date = | url =http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/Timothy_Parker_(puzzle_designer) | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Crossword Who's Who - P | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''bestforpuzzles.com''| date = | url =http://bestforpuzzles.com/people2/p.html | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref> |
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On May 19, 2003, Parker became the second crossword editor of ''[[USA Today]]'' following Charles Preston. Parker is also a contributing writer and editor for [http://www.puzzlesociety.com/ The Puzzle Society],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.puzzlesociety.com/daily-jumble-crossword|title=Daily Jumble Crossword: Flash Edition|access-date=2016-03-16}}</ref> and is the founder and senior editor of the [[Universal Uclick]] line of crossword puzzles and games, which are syndicated around the world both in print and online. |
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In 1999, together with Universal Press Syndicate’s Uclick division, Parker founded The Puzzle Society, and is the founder and senior editor of the [[Universal Uclick]] line of crossword puzzles and games, which are syndicated around the world both in print and online.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.puzzlesociety.com/daily-jumble-crossword|title=Daily Jumble Crossword: Flash Edition|access-date=2016-03-16}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | On March 4, 2016, the website [[FiveThirtyEight]], |
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On May 19, 2003, Parker became the second crossword editor of [[USA Today]] following Charles Preston. <ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Universal crossword timothy parker | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''aijiuyujia.com''| date = | url =http://www.aijiuyujia.com/universal-crossword-timothy-parker.pdf | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref> In summer of 2003, Parker created the “Family Time Crossword,” which has been one the top family crosswords since and is syndicated worldwide.<ref name=SYND/> |
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| ⚫ | Parker said he had not deliberately copied any puzzles, and that the repeated themes were coincidental.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2016/mar/07/the-great-us-crossword-plagiarism-mystery|title=The great US crossword 'plagiarism' mystery|last=Connor|first=Alan|date=2016-03-07|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-03-10}}</ref> On March 7, Universal Uclick and |
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In 2005, Parker launched a custom puzzle division for advertisers and corporations. Entities that used Parker’s work include [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]], [[Arthritis Foundation]], [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], [[Sony]], [[Coca-Cola]], [[Comcast|Comcast Cable]], [[Warner Bros.]], [[Microsoft]], [[Electronic Arts]], [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian Institute]], [[Time Warner]], [[Merriam-Webster]], Financial Web, and others.<ref name=SYND/> |
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| ⚫ | On April 18, 2016, Universal Uclick announced that it had confirmed some of the allegations and that Parker would take a three-month leave of absence. |
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In 2007, TV game show legend Merv Griffin flew Parker out to Beverly Hills to help create Griffin’s last game show, “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords.” The show ran for 225 episodes.<ref name=PRW>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Black History Month Profile: The Puzzle Brain Behind 'Merv Griffin's Crosswords' | newspaper =| location = | pages = | language = | publisher =''prweb.com''| date = | url =http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/02/prweb687744.htm | accessdate =6 May 2017}}</ref> In June 2016, Parker, with a major investment, launched a new series of online and digital crosswords and puzzles in five formats.<ref name=SYND/> |
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| ⚫ | On March 4, 2016, an article on the website [[FiveThirtyEight]], said it had found some similarities between 1,537 of the 15,000 puzzles Parker had edited and published through USA Today and Universal Uclick and ones published by [[The New York Times]] and other publishers.<ref name=AO>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/plagiarism-scandal-leaves-the-crossword-community-puzzled|title=Plagiarism Scandal Leaves the Crossword Community Puzzled|date=2016-03-05|website=Atlas Obscura|access-date=2016-03-06}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-plagiarism-scandal-is-unfolding-in-the-crossword-world/|title=A Plagiarism Scandal Is Unfolding In The Crossword World|last=Roeder|first=Oliver|website=FiveThirtyEight|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-06|quote=More broadly, 1,090 Universal puzzles and 447 USA Today puzzles were at least a 75 percent match to an earlier puzzle in the database.}}</ref> Ninety-two were similar to ones published by The New York Times and in 699 cases, the previous publisher was either Parker’s own USA Today or Universal puzzles.<ref name=AO/> |
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| ⚫ | Parker said he had not deliberately copied any puzzles, and that the repeated themes were coincidental.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2016/mar/07/the-great-us-crossword-plagiarism-mystery|title=The great US crossword 'plagiarism' mystery|last=Connor|first=Alan|date=2016-03-07|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-03-10}}</ref> On March 7, Universal Uclick and USA Today issued statements saying that Parker had temporarily stepped down from his role as senior editor while an investigation into the plagiarism allegations was underway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crossword-world-ruction-n-uproar-over-plagiarism-allegations-n533676|title=Crossword World in a Ruction (n: 'Uproar') Over Plagiarism Allegations|website=NBC News|access-date=2016-03-10}}</ref > |
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| ⚫ | On April 18, 2016, Universal Uclick announced that it had confirmed some of the allegations and that Parker would take a three-month leave of absence. He would "(use) the best available technology to ensure that everything he edits is original."<ref>http://www.universaluclick.com/press/press_release/196</ref> On May 10, 2016, USA Today announced that it would not publish any future puzzles from Timothy Parker, although it would continue to use vendor Universal Uclick.<ref>[http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/timothy-parker-accused-of-plagiarism-is-out-as-usa-todays-crossword-puzzle-editor/ Timothy Parker, Accused Of Plagiarism, Is Out As USA Today’s Crossword Puzzle Editor]</ref> As a result, Parker no longer accepts any outside puzzle submissions for publication in any of his lines of games. |
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==Television== |
==Television== |
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Revision as of 18:15, 8 May 2017
Timothy E. Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 7, 1960 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | TV producer, puzzle editor,author, games creator |
Timothy Eric Parker (born April 7, 1960) is an American puzzle editor, games creator, author, and TV producer.[1]
Puzzle career
In November 1996, Parker founded the “Daily Crossword,” one of the first online syndicated crossword puzzles with CNN (link) among his first clients.[2] By early 1997, Parker’s puzzle became the “Universal Crossword” syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate to hundreds of newspapers and clients worldwide. Parker has been the senior editor for Universal Crosswords for 20 years.[3][4] Parker added multiple new games to syndication including “Universal Wordsearch,” “Universal Trivia,” “Cryptic Crosswords,” “Cryptogram” and others.[5][6]
In 1999, together with Universal Press Syndicate’s Uclick division, Parker founded The Puzzle Society, and is the founder and senior editor of the Universal Uclick line of crossword puzzles and games, which are syndicated around the world both in print and online.[7]
On May 19, 2003, Parker became the second crossword editor of USA Today following Charles Preston. [8] In summer of 2003, Parker created the “Family Time Crossword,” which has been one the top family crosswords since and is syndicated worldwide.[2]
In 2005, Parker launched a custom puzzle division for advertisers and corporations. Entities that used Parker’s work include Nike, Arthritis Foundation, Disney, Sony, Coca-Cola, Comcast Cable, Warner Bros., Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Smithsonian Institute, Time Warner, Merriam-Webster, Financial Web, and others.[2]
In 2007, TV game show legend Merv Griffin flew Parker out to Beverly Hills to help create Griffin’s last game show, “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords.” The show ran for 225 episodes.[9] In June 2016, Parker, with a major investment, launched a new series of online and digital crosswords and puzzles in five formats.[2]
On March 4, 2016, an article on the website FiveThirtyEight, said it had found some similarities between 1,537 of the 15,000 puzzles Parker had edited and published through USA Today and Universal Uclick and ones published by The New York Times and other publishers.[10][11] Ninety-two were similar to ones published by The New York Times and in 699 cases, the previous publisher was either Parker’s own USA Today or Universal puzzles.[10]
Parker said he had not deliberately copied any puzzles, and that the repeated themes were coincidental.[12] On March 7, Universal Uclick and USA Today issued statements saying that Parker had temporarily stepped down from his role as senior editor while an investigation into the plagiarism allegations was underway.[13]
On April 18, 2016, Universal Uclick announced that it had confirmed some of the allegations and that Parker would take a three-month leave of absence. He would "(use) the best available technology to ensure that everything he edits is original."[14] On May 10, 2016, USA Today announced that it would not publish any future puzzles from Timothy Parker, although it would continue to use vendor Universal Uclick.[15] As a result, Parker no longer accepts any outside puzzle submissions for publication in any of his lines of games.
Television
In 2006, Parker became the puzzle producer for Merv Griffin's Crosswords.
In 2008, Parker contributed to the ABC prime time television show The Mole.[citation needed] In addition, Parker has created puzzles that have appeared on The View, Access Hollywood and others.
Books
Parker has written or edited over 50 books, a series of puzzle books for the For Dummies brand, 25 digital games, the annual USA Today Crossword Calendar, and the syndicated Family Time Crossword.
Parker co-wrote The Book of Revelation Made Clear with the co-creator of the Left Behind series, Dr. Tim LaHaye.
Awards and recognition
In May 2000, Parker said he was named "World's Most Syndicated Puzzle Compiler" by Guinness World Records.[16]
References
- ^ David, Post (15 March 2016). "Crosswords and copyright". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d "Universal Crossword by Timothy Parker". syndication.andrewsmcmeel.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Printable Daily Crosswords for April 2015". freedailycrosswords.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Daily crossword puzzle". denverpost.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "TIMOTHY PARKER (PUZZLE DESIGNER)". self.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Crossword Who's Who - P". bestforpuzzles.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Daily Jumble Crossword: Flash Edition". Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- ^ "Universal crossword timothy parker" (PDF). aijiuyujia.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Black History Month Profile: The Puzzle Brain Behind 'Merv Griffin's Crosswords'". prweb.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Plagiarism Scandal Leaves the Crossword Community Puzzled". Atlas Obscura. 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
- ^ Roeder, Oliver. "A Plagiarism Scandal Is Unfolding In The Crossword World". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
More broadly, 1,090 Universal puzzles and 447 USA Today puzzles were at least a 75 percent match to an earlier puzzle in the database.
- ^ Connor, Alan (2016-03-07). "The great US crossword 'plagiarism' mystery". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ^ "Crossword World in a Ruction (n: 'Uproar') Over Plagiarism Allegations". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ^ http://www.universaluclick.com/press/press_release/196
- ^ Timothy Parker, Accused Of Plagiarism, Is Out As USA Today’s Crossword Puzzle Editor
- ^ Smiley, Tavis (2003-05-22). "Interview: Timothy Parker discusses being the most syndicated crossword compiler in the world and his career creating puzzles". NPR (subscription required). Retrieved 2016-03-06.