I am not saying that the NY Times is a CIA asset but from the crap they have printed in the past like the whole WMDs in Iraq saga and the puff piece of Elizabeth Holmes they are far from a completely independent and propaganda free paper. Henry Kissinger would call the paper and have his talking point printed the next day regarding Vietnam. [1]
There is a huge conflict of access to government officials and independents of papers.
Operation Mockingbird. While the publication as a whole may not be an asset, there are most assuredly assets within its staff.