I would love to see the NYT completely ad-free. I subscribed for a few months thinking my subscription fee would remove the ads, but that wasn't the case.
I want a good source of news, ad-free, and I'm willing to pay for it. Unfortunately it seems like I'm in the extreme minority.
I'd like that, too. However, subscriptions alone—unless raised significantly—won't cover the costs for the NYT (or other paper). Note that the physical paper always carries ads and each paper is paid for—either the cover price or through a subscription.
Hopefully subscriptions will encourage better quality ads, headlines, and stories. Subscriptions do allow for less click bait.
Ms magazine was completely ad-free for many years starting in 1991. They currently accept only 'mission-driven advertisements from primarily non-profit, non-partisan organizations'.
I hope you're not in an extreme minority, because I'm right there with you. I currently subscribe to the NYT, and I'd welcome the opportunity to entirely pay for my content without having to worry about ads. I get around it now by using ABP -- with no guilt, since I'm a subscriber -- but it would be nice to not need such interventions.
They're totally set on the advertising business model. They started displaying ads on the front page of the paper in 2009. If they change anything, they will raise prices and display even more ads.
I'm not sure I would subscribe, but I want to live in a world where it's possible.