The claim has been filtered through a game of telephone. It may well be the case that NYTimes management directed their journalists to produce critical coverage of tech in the sense that TillE means, which then got corrupted into the "no positive coverage" meaning of 'critical'.
I think this is probably what happened, but without any better source for this supposed directive, it's impossible to say for sure.
I think this is probably what happened, but without any better source for this supposed directive, it's impossible to say for sure.