Their extra, added today in beta, is just a great step forward to becoming an agreggation axis.  Combining the power of automatic and manual aggregation with an editorial line, from my point of view, is the future of Internet because we simply got too much information and the problem is not of volume but of quality information.
I am every day more convinced that New York Times is right in combining their brand with their future.
The key to contents online is not reading, watching, enjoying contents but searching. If media gets to the core of finding information, they will go back to being central in communications, and this is why this is not tactical but strategic.
This tool is just easy to use and it does not need installation. It offers a different navigation for a different user profile and if you prefer the traditional mode, you may just switch back to the “old” nytimes.com. This is offering more features to those who want more while keeping a “traditional experience” for those who prefer it.
I am really happy to see them clearly leading the way because I feel they are a mirror for many other media. Hopefully, they will speed all media so much and we should all be grateful to what they are doing.
When you are a brand like The New York Times, taking riks to innovate and progress is much more exposed to criticism. Great job again and hopefully they will continue offering ways to access not just “any” available content online, but any quality content. I think that difference  is huge because our time is gold and we got no time to waste so much in finding and selecting sources all the time on our own.
I think today is going to be a new beginning. I know many people may think I am over-reacting to this, but I think this tool just confirmed what I think about The New York Times, they know what they are doing and they are being brave to innovate.
If you also think that aggregation tools used by humans can be key for the future of communication, then go to reading this post:  new journalists for new information flows

Adapting to changing environments is crucial for media businesses nowadays, and it is the only way to profit from new opportunities arising. Corporate venturing is the concept that summarizes all related to new businesses creation in an established organization.

RQ: Given the emerging business opportunities, (1) how do firms organize their
new business venturing activities in a structural dimension and (2) why do they
choose a certain organizational mode for venturing?

We all know how media has undergone great changes and challenges from both, internal and environmental factors. Media companies are looking for new revenue streams by stretching their competitive advantages and diversifying their activities/risks. Media compete in a triple market: content, audience and advertising.

New media business oportunities: internet, mobile, webcasting, gaming, digital tv and venture capital.

“Corporate entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or a group
of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new
organization or instigate renewal or innovation with that organization.”
(Sharma & Chrisman, 1999, p.18)

This work covers several business cases in a deep analysis: Internet Business Venturing and Mobile Media Venturing in News Corporation; the New York Times Company, FiOS TV Venturing and Online Gaming Business Venturing in Verizon Communications, Mobile Distributing Consumer Media Venturing in YouTube, Webcasting Business Venturing in the China Telecom Corporation.

After this analysis, his conclusions are:

Proposition 1: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ and the level of ‘resource conditions’ are both high, the hierarchical modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business.

Proposition 2: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ and the level of ‘resource conditions’ are both low, the more market-oriented modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business.

Proposition 3: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ is high and the level of ‘resource conditions’ is low, the hierarchical modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business, if the venturing activities are primarily driven by the direct incentives.

Proposition 4: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ is high and the level of ‘resource conditions’ is low, the market-oriented modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business, if the venturing activities are primarily driven by the indirect incentives.

Proposition 5: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ is low and the level of‘resource conditions’ is high, the hierarchical modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business, if the venturing activities are primarily driven by the indirect incentives.

Proposition 6: when the level of ‘economics conditions’ is low and the level of ‘resource conditions’ is high, the market-oriented modes will be preferred by media companies while venturing for new business, if the venturing activities are primarily driven by the direct incentives.

It can be a bit difficult to understand those propositions without having read the whole book before. The conclusion is that media companies show unflexibilitiy when dealing with relatively small projects (low resources and economic conditions) and when having a complex initiatives they may adopt a hierarchical mode, but not always. In other words, media companies are not good innovation companies within themselves and their business model development may happen mainly through acquisitions. In some cases (like in News Corporation) it is reflected in this book how they deliberately prefer to allow others to move first, and then jump into the market paying the acquisition of an expensive monetary cost but saving the pain of a failed project.

Anyone working in media would more or less presume that these propositions are true by having a look to their own evironments. It is no longer a feasible to keep media businesses in the long term with organizations that are not flexilbe. Media must assume that change is not just merely about how to manage and adopt new techologies but a process that wont stop. Change is our new model, we must continuously be changing, we must be changing organizations on our own, and we have to permanently adapt in order to continue offering what our consumers demand. An organization that does not embrace change, that does not love change will die today or tomorrow.