Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Shouting “Extra! Extra!” before you say something makes it seem more urgent!

There’s a new Twitter account in town, and it’s chronicling the exploits of those “obvious” stories – you know, the ones that claim to cite a brand new, ground breaking study that tells us all what we already know – in the New York Times and other major newspapers. There are some really obvious stories out there, and @NYTOnIt is ON IT.

The folks behind the NYTOnIt Twitter account apparently believe that there is a lot of redundant or irrelevant news that hits the papers these days. They’ve taken it upon themselves to point out whenever a newspaper (mostly the New York Times) states the obvious… and it’s hilarious.

Take a look at a few sample tweets from the account:

“GUYS, people on Twitter use hashtags to communicate in a variety of ways and The Times is ON IT. http://nyti.ms/knScyl”

“GUYS, people who get married in Brooklyn often rent food trucks to cater their weddings, and The Journal is ON IT. http://on.wsj.com/lXXXz6″

“GUYS, the Internet allows people to be themselves in good and bad ways, Virginian Heffernan is ON IT. http://nyti.ms/mI9cAp”

“GUYS, it’s noisy in New York City, and The Times is ON IT. http://nyti.ms/jlXi9Y”

Hilarious.

These tweets are all funny, and if you look at the articles in the attached links, they themselves are pretty funny in that they basically tell us what we already know.

But I bet you didn’t know exactly why the “Times Is On It” account exists.

Here’s a description according to its Tumblr account:

“From time to time, this space will serve to mock and highlight the ridiculousness that are lifestyles pieces. After a while, you’ll see that newspapers are just telling us what we already know.”

Yep, all of the stories this account mocks are “lifestyle” pieces, those little fluffy, feel-good stories that fill up a newspaper’s midsection.

I bet the next time you’re reading the lifestyle section of the Times or your local paper, you’ll question just how valuable what you’re reading actually is, thanks to this little Twitter account.

Via Poynter