In further journalism news, the Times finally got a clue: Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site The quotes here speak volumes:

What changed, The Times said, was that many more readers started coming to the site from search engines and links on other sites instead of coming directly to NYTimes.com.

In other words, people were emailing and blogging Times articles, even when the articles were not generally available. I, for one, welcome our new network-effects overlords.

Now the light dawns:

These indirect readers, unable to get access to articles behind the pay wall and less likely to pay subscription fees than the more loyal direct users, were seen as opportunities for more page views and increased advertising revenue.

“What wasn’t anticipated was the explosion in how much of our traffic would be generated by Google, by Yahoo and some others,” Ms. Schiller said.

That last bit bears repeating: it wasn't anticipated how much of their traffic would come from Google. The Times execs obviously do not have the same kids who open a laptop and ask, "Where's your Google?" Or they just aren't listening.

With the paywall coming down, I'm going to fetch a graffitoed chunk as a souvenir.