> Why should a principal SWE there get paid less than a senior SWE working on Google News, for instance?

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=%28GOOGL%2C+NYT%29+reve...

    (GOOGL, NYT) revenue per employee

    Alphabet Class A Shares | $1.815 million (US dollars)
    New York Times Company  | $422656.27 (US dollars)