Tuesday 20 November 2012

New York Times parody account restored to Twitter after outcry - The Guardian

The New York Times faced a predictable social media backlash on Tuesday after objecting to a Twitter account that parodies the news organization's occasionally stumbling attempts to document the latest cultural trends in its home city.

Commentators rushed to condemn the Times when Twitter suspended The Times Is On It account on Monday night, acting on a complaint that the parody account had violated its trademark. After an outcry from Twitter users, the account was restored on Tuesday morning.

The Times objected to the parody account's use of its distinctive "T" logo. The man behind the parody, Benjamin Kabak, said Times lawyers had not contacted him directly but had complained to Twitter instead.

"If the New York Times was looking for a way to be petty and damage its own brand, it found one," posted the media critic Dan Gillmor, who writes a regular online column on the US media for the Guardian.

The parody account, @NYTOnit, pokes gentle fun at the Times' frequent forays into New York style trends. Its tweets take the same format, starting with "GUYS," followed by a few words summarising the offending article's statement of the (usually) obvious, and ending with "...and The Times is ON IT."

A recent NYT article examining the battles between parents and their offspring over the state of their rooms, was thus parodied: "GUYS, teenagers have messy bedrooms, and The Times is ON IT."

Another recent tweet declared: "GUYS, Blackberries aren't particularly cool anymore, and The Times is ON IT."

Kabak told the Guardian that he would have been happy to resolve the issue if the Times had contacted him directly: "There's a quieter way to handle this and there's a way it doesn't need to become a huge story.

"I also don't feel that I'm legally in the wrong but I don't really care to fight that. I'd rather just solve this quickly and peacefully."

Kabak said a number of Times staff follow his personal Twitter account – @bkabak – and are aware of his identity. The Times's public editor, Margaret Sullivan, had indicated her approval of the account only on Monday.

Kabak, a 29-year-old lawyer who lives in Brooklyn, said he was happy to change the avatar. "The whole point of the account, which is sort of making fun of trend stories that Times carries doesn't rely on the intellectual property that they claim I'm violating."

The New York Times confirmed to the Guardian that it had made the complaint, saying it needed to protect its trademark.

"We did file a complaint with Twitter and it is our understanding that they have suspended this account for a violation of Twitter's terms of service," said Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy.

"We're not seeking to disable the account, however, it is important to The Times that our trademark is protected and that it is clear to all users of Twitter that parody accounts or other unofficial Times accounts are not affiliated nor endorsed by The Times."

Kabak's account had 20,600 followers when it was suspended. He said he set up the account in July 2011 after discussing the idea with friends. "I guess there's a tiny element of media criticism involved in it, because you're saying why is the Times covering this story that is totally obvious or it only applies to a few people," he said.

"I realise they have to fill a paper and that different sections serve different roles, but it's actually to make people laugh. It's to look at these at these articles and be like: 'Hey I'm not the only person who feels that this is a silly article.'"

A spokesman for Twitter said the company did not comment on individual accounts for "privacy and security reasons".

Returning to Twitter after the suspension was lifted, @NYTOnIt's first tweet was to launch an avatar contest.

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