There's a pretty big effort jump between writing an article and approving it for editing, in addition to writing involving you intently think about the story for a significant amount of time. This means that any ethical, financial, pr - related concerns are applied longer for the writer. NYT writers are highly motivated and competitive people, and would worry about even the occasional negative piece. Bay Citizen writers aren't held to the same requirements, since they're aren't viewed in the same critical way. Editors, since they simply have to review the piece and what gets on the page is whatever is the best to choose from, are a lot more likely to approve a piece.