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I'm not really sure history that long ago really is a good way to measure such things.

Why not? The nature of the news industry hasn't changed fundamentally since the 1800s.

The type of news / reliability a given paper provides can change.

I'm not sure Alexander Hamilton is relevant as to my question.

I think we are meant to take "as reliable" here as "not particularly". I found that the NYT in the Bush era supported Cheney falsehoods long after they had been exposed elsewhere. Of course they were big boosters for the Iraq invasion debacle even long after the fact.

Thomas Friedman obliterated any credibility he ever had over that.

And it's owned by Rupert Murdoch. Enough said, really.