New York Times opens up code
The New York Times likes open source — so much so that, as it gradually moves more of its print operations online, it is nurturing a Web development team that has released two of its own open source projects. — XSL Cache is a PHP extension the Times is using to cache stylesheets on its Web site.
Context & Ripple Effects
October has been an unusually open month for the New York Times. Within weeks it freed its Op-Ed columns and archives from the TimesSelect paywall, started running reader comments above the fold on its home page, and is now publishing code — a notable reversal for a paper whose August MyTimes personalized start page launch was greeted by commentators as a decade late to begin with.
The Linux.com piece reports the paper's web development team has released two open source projects, including XSL Cache, a PHP extension the Times uses to cache stylesheets on nytimes.com. Coming on the heels of the paywall teardown, contributing internal tooling back to the open-source ecosystem reads as part of the same strategic posture: as print operations migrate online, the Times is competing for engineering credibility with companies that treat openness as table stakes.
First-order effects
- Any PHP site can now use XSL Cache, meaning the Times' stylesheet-caching work becomes shared infrastructure rather than a proprietary edge.
- The Times' web team gains visibility in the developer community at precisely the moment the paper is trying to hire and retain engineers against Silicon Valley employers.
Second-order effects
- Rival publishers moving their own print operations online face pressure to match the Times' open posture — both on content access, where TimesSelect was dismantled this month, and now on tooling.
- PHP's standing among large media sites gets a visible enterprise endorsement at a time when many publishers default to Java or .NET stacks.
Third-order effects
- If legacy media firms keep releasing internal tools, newspaper technology groups could reposition from cost centers maintaining print pipelines to contributors shaping shared web infrastructure — a shift in how the industry competes for technical talent.
- Open-sourcing operational code while opening paid content suggests a broader recalibration of what a publisher treats as its moat: less the container, more the audience relationship.
The trend: Legacy publishers are adopting open-source release practices and free-content strategies as they rebuild around the web, trading walled-garden control for reach and engineering credibility.