And this is coming from NYT, a bullshit venue, whose boss said in a recent letter: "... we aim to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism. That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor ...". NYT should close the business, nobody trusts them anymore.
"considering the newspaper just had a 96% drop in profits last quarter."
Without knowing what the drop in profits is due to, I think it's. For example, is it because people are getting more of their news online and letting their paper subscriptions lapse? In my area home delivery is between $5–$10 per week, and that's at the 50% off introductory rate, compared to $3.75/week online only. Of course, that doesn't take into account printing and delivery costs.
Another reason could be that people no longer see value above and beyond what's available elsewhere that they can get for free online. That's different from no longer trusting the paper.
Looking up the reporting on the NYT profit decline, they note
- decline in print ad sales, increase in digital ad sales (which is expected given the print -> digital migration)
- significant investment in digital publishing
- net profit losses mainly due to restructuring charges related to reducing workforce
