While basically agreeing with what @weyoun6 says here — yes, catering to the aristocracy runs deep in the NYT’s blood, absolutely — I find this sort of “they always sucked” reaction a bit too facile.
Something really has shifted at the NYT in the last 10-20 years. I don't think I’m imagining that it used to be a better paper, used to have more teeth. The above used to be marbled in with truly great reporting; now…rarely.