Actually, most reputable newspapers have very strict rules about anonymous sources, including some who ban them altogether.

Here is the NY Times Standard and Ethics Statement, which describes the newspaper's "distaste" for anonymous sources:

http://www.nytco.com/who-we-are/culture/standards-and-ethics...

In fact, that's probably the reason it was pulled: a complaint was made to the NYT Public Editor about the piece's sources.