I love Tufte's ideas and design. They are on my reading list. I'll be tackling them after school this summer.
Another thought: I don't know that I'm ready to count the New York Times out yet. I know that Pmarca is doing their deathwatch: ttp://blog.pmarca.com/2008/02/irony-is-dead-l.html
But, I'm seeing some impressive changes over there. With the release of their archives, and some of the changes they're making, I think that it's rapidly turning into one of the best newspaper presences online. Seems like they have some people in the right places with their thinking caps on.
