I read the NY Times because of the quality of the journalism. While the paper is left-leaning, the quality overcomes the bias. However the editorials are a completely different matter.

Today's editorial is regarding the NY exam schools (Stuyvesant et al), which admit students based upon performance of an admission exam. The study materials for the exam are widely available and free. However, the "mix" of the students is not what some groups would like. So do those groups try to get students to work harder so they can perform better on the exam? Nope. This being 21st century America, they instead decided to sue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/o...-the-federal-radar.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

The editorial mentions that the Department of Education decided to investigate the exam schools. And the NY Times editorial hopes that the investigation will force the exam schools to modify their admission criteria.

Does merit matter anymore in the US?

PS: Several years ago, I was part of a group that was invited to visit the New York Times. Jill Abramson gave us a lengthy presentation. Afterwards, the reaction from my group (business executives from several industries) was that she had an ivory tower mentality, out of touch with how the real world actually worked. Jill is now executive editor, and the New York times now unfortunately reflects her view.