I see this sort of thing EVERY TIME I've done a website redesign. An organization that is customer-focused and knows what it's about does quick redesigns that produce tremendous results. A business that's silo'd itself into fiefdoms produces something else, and it usually isn't good.

Bad publishers often get bad redesigns, agencies say. That’s because a publisher has to know what it’s about. When that vision is muddled, so to is the design. Want to know a publisher that’s driven by internal squabbling: look for the carousel, which is usually a sign of different departments fighting for scarce real estate.“The state of the organization generally reflects what that experience is like,” said Mike Treff, partner at design agency Code and Theory. “Dealing with forward-focused, modern, aligned-from-a-values-perspective organization, it’s easier than dealing with an organization that’s struggling and what their way forward is.” 

Yep.