As for the rest, I find it refreshing that the NYT and Guardian are "bleeping" fewer quotes. I don't think the paper itself should start working blue, but if someone swears in an interview, you should print what they said.

EDIT: Oh, I hadn't read that particular article. It doesn't bother me much, but profanity is a crutch. I'm fine with it in day-to-day conversation and blog posts, but a professional writer using it in an opinion piece is lazy.