The New York Times’s old white Democrats problem

The New York Times is a marvel of journalism. Not coincidentally, it’s also a rare journalism business success story. Instead of collapsing under the weight of digital competition, the paper transformed its business model, and now relies on money from its readers instead of advertisers. That strategy allowed it to thrive for the past decade while the rest of the news industry convulsed.

But while the Times has succeeded wildly at getting people to pay for its journalism, it has not succeeded at transforming the kind of people who pay for...