The Times, on Becoming an ‘Airplane Company’

The New York Times recently struck up partnerships with Facebook and Apple to host some of its content directly on their mobile apps—a deal with the devil, some have argued, in which the Times risks ceding control of its journalism and distribution power to gargantuan technology companies.

Even riskier, Times brass has countered, would be failing to take advantage of powerful Internet platforms that can help the Times grow its audience and, in turn, its digital revenues, as it races to offset the diminution of print.