Bingo.
A couple of the young engineers in my company have come to me expressing concern that their writing skills are abysmal (the fact that they recognize this is a good sign), and I've told them that the first step to developing good writing skills is to read extensively. One of them started working on the NY Times crossword puzzle every day, too.
Good effort, wrong newspaper. The problem here is that to do a NY Times crossword means someone has to have bought a NY Times. This should be discouraged if at all possible and such people, if they cannot be re-educated, should be quietly phased out.
May I suggest a subscription to something like The Washington Times? At least then the rest of the paper has some value and is a worthwhile read.