I worked at a regional newspaper for a large chunk of the last decade. I remember back around 2005, our publisher was very gung-ho about getting us to dedicate resources to rewriting other people's stories. The editorial department was unanimously against it, because it was not very useful to anyone, not real journalism, and in many cases seemed to verge on plagiarism.
Interesting to see the New York Times is getting religion about it. I wonder if the overall opinion among journalists has shifted or if it's just sort of something you have to do.