The New York Times Special Edition

A celebration/collaboration with Steve Lambert, Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men, along with 30 writers, 50 advisors, around 1000 volunteer distributors, CODEPINK, May First/People Link, Evil Twin, Improv Everywhere and Not An Alternative.

On November twelfth, 2008, over 80,000 copies of a replica of the New York Times were distributed in several cities around the United States. The paper included 14 pages of “best case scenario” news set nine months in the future.

See the The New York Times Special Edition website.

About the Project

Activists often take the the role of critics. We march in response to current events carrying signs that say “NO ______!” “DON’T ____!” and “STOP _____!” It’s inherently reactive, negative, and critical instead of constructive and visionary. And it’s done over and over again.

After the 2008 election of Barack Obama much of the United States population was excited about the future for the first time in years. With the Special Edition, we wanted to find a way to celebrate what we wanted, rather than criticize what we didn’t. We wanted to create our own vision instead of responding to others.

One week after the election a newspaper hit the streets with the surprising headline: “IRAQ WAR ENDS”

Over 80,000 copies of this “Special Edition” of the New York Times were placed directly in commuters hands, free of charge, in several cities around the United States. The paper closely matched the design, look, and feel of Times in every way but for a few small details. For example:

it was distributed in November 2008, but dated July 4, 2009
instead of the motto “All the News That’s Fit to Print” it read “All the News We Hope to Print”
it was free

Inside were 14 pages of “best case scenario” news that describing the world as it could be eight months in the future.

The paper included World, National, Business, and Local sections with hypothetical headlines like “Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress,” “USA Patriot Act repealed,” and “All Public Universities To Be Free.” Each story provided a fictional history of how such a thing could happen on such a timeline through grass-roots pressure using real-world details. A replica of the New York Times website mirrored the stories online and was visited by over 300,000 people in the first two days.

Because The Special Edition was a tangible newspaper it transported people to a parallel world. For a few moments, in the minds of the readers, our hopes and dreams became real news. The goal was to take readers there for fifteen seconds. For fifteen seconds people could feel what it was like to live without two ongoing wars, and some of their dreams to have become reality. For fifteen seconds, after 7 years of ongoing war, to be reminded of what it was like to have peace.

After 15 seconds there were enough clues that people could figure out what was going on. The goal of the organizers was not to have anyone feel “tricked” or the butt of a joke, but to be welcomed in to an inside joke that could be shared with friends. The reaction on the street was overwhelmingly positive.

The project brought together dozens of activists in a collaborative vision of what could be possible (or just on the edge of possible) in a world where we’ve won every battle. More than an incredible, highly coordinated stunt, it was an utopian vision written in a familiar language that involved thousands of volunteers and reached around the world. It ruptured the present and vividly revealed a better world.

Video

A very incomplete list of media coverage

Movies

The Yes Men Fix The World
Cultures of Resistance

Online coverage

Television

German Evening News
CNN
MSNBC
Local and National News across the US

Print

Fillip Magazine – an interview with Steve Lambert about the project
Bomb Magazine – Steve Lambert interviews Andy Bichlbaum about their participation in the project

(There’s lots more media attached to this which I plan on adding someday.)

The People

Creative and Logistical Collaborators
STEVE LAMBERT
ANDY BICHLBAUM
DANIEL S DUNNAM
KELLI ANDERSON
GREGG OSOFSKY
MIKE BONANO
JEREMY PIKSER
JACQUELINE STEVENS
HEATHER ROGERS
LARRY BOGAD
JOSEPH HUFF-HANNON
SCOTT BEIBIN
LIZ COLE
ELIOT KATZ
CRISTIAN FLEMING
STEVE KURTZ
JOE DELAPPE
TREVOR PAGLEN
STEPHEN DUNCOMBE
DALTON CONLEY
PACKARD JENNINGS
JAMIE McCLELLAND
TOM FOSTER
NINA FELSHIN
ISABEL MACDONALD
BILL MARTIN

Logistical and Creative Collaborators
BROOKE LEHMANN
BEKA ECONOMOPOULOS
JASON JONES
MEDEA BENJAMIN
JODIE EVANS
JEAN STEVENS
DANA BALICKI
LAURIE ARBEITER
RANDY OSTROW
ETIENNE NOREAU-HEBERT
CHARLIE TODD
ANDREW BOYD
GREG PODUNOVICH
GRACE SALEM
AMANDA McDONALD-CROWLEY
JEFF CROUSE
ZENA BARAKAT
FRANCES FOX PIVEN
RICHIE SUMMERS
PRANAV BEHARI
CYNTHIA YARDLEY
PATRICK CAREY
NICK FLYNN
LILI TAYLOR
NATALIE JEREMIJENKO
FRANCO MATTES
EVA MATTES
LESLIE CAGAN
NOAM GONICK

Institutional Collaborators
EYEBEAM
THE ANTI-ADVERTISING AGENCY
CODEPINK
MAY FIRST/PEOPLE LINK
IMPROV EVERYWHERE
EVIL TWIN BOOKING
NOT AN ALTERNATIVE
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
CULTURES OF RESISTANCE
EXPEDI PRINTING

Transport Logisticians
KALIM ARMSTRONG
JAMES BACHHUBER
PAUL NOTZOLD
RICHARD LAMANNA
LISA NOLA
MARY JEYS
LIZ FILARDI
JAMES POWDERLY
RANDY OSTROW
HILARY GOLDSTEIN
JON COHRS
JASON EPPINK

Server Survival Team
JAMIE McCLELLAND
ETIENNE NOREAU-HEBERT
ALFREDO LOPEZ
JAMIE WILKINSON
GREGG OSOFSKY

Video News Release Team
JOSEPH HUFF-HANNON
ARTUR KUMMER
LILKA HARA
LILI TAYLOR
NICK FLYNN
RANDY OSTROW
NINA FELSHIN
MADELINE NELSON
BILL MARTIN
WOLFGANG STAEHLE

Camera
ELIZABETH PRESS
MARK READ
ROCKETBOOM
ELIZABETH PRESS
SERGEI KRASIKAU
STEVE LAMBERT
RAUL BARCELONA
DANIEL DUNNAM
And many others

Photographers
CONWAY LIAO
JON COHRS
ELSPETH ROUNDTREE
And many others

Additional Editors
JOE BONACCI
ERIC BROWN

Sound
JOHN BUCHER

This project was also worked under the following names: the Fake New York Times, Spoof New York Times, The New York Times Hoax, Iraq War Ends, Because We Want It, The End of the War of the Worlds, The Massive Power Shifting Exercise, The Good News, etc.