Does anyone know what technologies/ content management systems newspaper companies like the New York Times or the LA times use to run their websites?
I need to re-design my Universities website, and I want to make sure I'm using/researching the best technology possible.
The New York Times scrapped the off-the-shelf CMS they were using for a completely custom CMS; I don't know exactly for the LA Times, but I'll bet they're running on custom code, too.
The best technology possible is different for each use case, and unless you're the New York Times or the LA Times, it's very likely not a CMS that's been tailored for large-scale international newspapers.
All that said, if you need build a site that runs a Media property like a newspaper or magazine, consider Drupal. Check http://groups.drupal.org/node/5100 and http://buytaert.net/tag/drupal-sites to get an idea of who's running it. It's also great for NPOs and universities, as well.
Django has its roots in the newspaper industry, which is detailed in the online book and FAQ. Since then it has grown in popularity, running a few sites, including portions of the New York Times and LA Times. Here are a few links that further detail its use in that industry.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1906795/what-are-some-famous-websites-built-in-django