Your point is generally valid, if a bit tinfoiled, but their hand was particularly forced this time by Snowden. If you'll recall the recent history, Snowden wa

Your point is generally valid, if a bit tinfoiled, but their hand was particularly forced this time by Snowden. If you'll recall the recent history, Snowden was spooked by his interaction with Gellman -- particularly regarding publishing timeline -- and went to Greenwald instead [1]. There's some debate about the exact sequence of events, but regardless, Greenwald put the story out first, and the Post had no choice but to follow suit. NYT was left red-faced and could only -- shamelessly -- ask Snowden why he didn't choose them [2]. [1] http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/edward-snowden-nsa-leaker-glenn-greenwald-barton-gellman-92505.html http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/edward-snowden-nsa-lea... [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-tra...