In ________________, David Segal wrote that his previous column had made readers scrutinize their cell phone bills — and that many found fraudulent charges: They’d been crammed.

a. The New York Times
b. the New York Times

Answer: It depends on your guide.

Explanation:
The Chicago Manual of Style prefers lower case for articles (a, an, the) beginning newspaper names but AP style is to capitalize them if they’re part of the publication’s name. If you follow a particular guide, follow its guidelines. If you’re not constrained to a guide, you just have to follow the universal rule: Decide what your own rule is and be consistent.

More on that cell phone billing scam:

The Haggler, AKA David Segal, reports: Cellphone Cramming Gets a Second Look.

Follow me on Twitter @tao_of_grammar