As an integral part of the newspaper, NYTimes.com was perceived internally as a credible
part of the corporation. This night not have been the case if it had been organized as an independent
operating unit that reported directly to corporate executives (similar to the broadcast properties, for
example). In fact, many senior newspaper executives would have been acutely uncomfortable with
entrusting the priceless New York Times brand to an operating unit that they didn’t control. Because
NYTimes.com was supervised closely by newspaper staff, it developed values and a culture similar to
the newspaper and adopted the decision-making biases of an established corporation.