I hope you wrote the emphasized part as a joke. They do lie all the time. Some times it is "exaggeration" sometimes it is mentioning easily controlled lie (hero diver is best and obvious example, or "incidents" crap). Actually it's very difficult to find an article in any american or british MM which succeed to report accurate information.The main point about NYT and other traditional news organizations is that they don't lie. But, they do print sources who lie. That is why they are supposed to check with multiple sources - but if those sources co-ordinate behind the scene, NYT will get it wrong.
Ofcourse, what they print depends on who they talk to. They select who they talk to - like all journalists - based on tips or contacts they already have. That is where the systemic errors creep in.
Read about Gell-Mann amnesia effect.