A VC

This is what a wall around content does.

Here are the Top 10 stores read on the NewYorkTimes.com in September:

1. Officials Struggle to Reverse a Growing Sense of Anarchy
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL, JOSEPH B. TREASTER and MARIA NEWMAN, Published: September 1, 2005
Bodies floated in stagnant floodwaters, and food and water supplies dwindled for thousands of trapped, desperate residents who had not yet managed to find a way out.

2. Breakdowns Marked Path From Hurricane to Anarchy
By ERIC LIPTON, CHRISTOPHER DREW, SCOTT SHANE and DAVID ROHDE, Published: September 11, 2005
An initial examination of Katrina's aftermath shows the extent to which the federal government failed to act as a unified force.

3. Maureen Dowd: United States of Shame
Published: September 3, 2005
W. drove his budget-cutting Chevy to the levee, and it wasn't dry. Bye, bye, American lives.

4. Frank Rich: Message: I Care About the Black Folks
Published: September 18, 2005
The worst storm in our history proved perfect for exposing this president because in one big blast it illuminated all his failings.

5. Macabre Reminder: The Corpse on Union Street
By DAN BARRY, Published: September 8, 2005
It is remarkable that on a downtown street in a major U.S. city, a corpse can decompose for days, like carrion, and that is acceptable.

6. Frank Rich: Falluja Floods the Superdome
Published: September 4, 2005
The failures of 9/11 come home to roost.

7. Local Officials Criticize Federal Government Over Response
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER and DEBORAH SONTAG, Published: September 2, 20055
Despair, privation and violent lawlessness grew so extreme in New Orleans that the mayor issued a "desperate S.O.S."

8. As White House Anxiety Grows, Bush Tries to Quell Political Crisis
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ADAM NAGOURNEY, Published: September 4, 2005
The White House's response to the crisis, which has been widely seen as slow and ineffectual, could undermine President Bush's second-term agenda.

9. Thomas L. Friedman: Osama and Katrina
Published: September 7, 2005
If President Bush goes back to his politics as usual, Katrina will have destroyed a city and a presidency.

10. Troops Bring Food, Water and Promise of Order to New Orleans
By FELICITY BARRINGER and MARIA NEWMAN, Published: September 2, 2005
Four days after Katrina left most of New Orleans under water, National Guard trucks arrived to begin helping thousands of people.

And here are the Top 10 Stories in October (when the wall went up around editorial content):

1. Magazine: What's a Modern Girl to Do?
By MAUREEN DOWD, Published: October 30, 2005
Burning your bra or padding it. Demanding "Ms." or flaunting "Mrs." Splitting the check or letting him pay. Playing it straight or playing hard to get.

2. Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Lawyers Report
By DAVID JOHNSTON, RICHARD W. STEVENSON and DOUGLAS JEHL, Published: October 25, 2005
Notes of a previously undisclosed conversation between the vice president and his chief of staff appear to differ from I. Lewis Libby's federal grand jury testimony.

3. The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell and a Deal
By DON VAN NATTA Jr., ADAM LIPTAK and CLIFFORD J. LEVY, Published: October 16, 2005
An examination of Judith Miller's decision not to testify, and then to do so, offers fresh information about her role and how The Times turned her case into a cause.

4. As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS, STEVEN LEE MYERS, ANDREW C. REVKIN and SIMON ROMERO, Published: October 10, 2005
With the thawing of the polar ice caps, the Arctic is undergoing a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources.

5. In Midcareer, a Turn to Faith to Fill a Void
By EDWARD WYATT and SIMON ROMERO, Published: October 5, 2005
Harriet E. Miers's decision to become an evangelical Christian coincided with a move toward the Republican Party.

6. New Storm Measures as Most Intense Ever for Atlantic Basin
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, Published: October 19, 2005
Hurricane Wilma, which appeared headed toward Cancun, intensified into a category 5 storm with winds of 175 miles per hour.

7. Cover-Up Issue Is Seen as Focus in Leak Inquiry
By DAVID JOHNSTON, Published: October 21, 2005
Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby Jr. have been advised that they may be in serious legal jeopardy, lawyers tied to the case said.

8. No Final Report Seen in Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak
By DAVID JOHNSTON and RICHARD W. STEVENSON, Published: October 19, 2005
If the special counsel decides not to issue a final report, that heightens the expectation that he intends to bring indictments.

9. Libby Resigns His Post; Rove's Fate Remains Unresolved
By DAVID STOUT, Published: October 28, 2005
I. Lewis Libby Jr. resigned after being charged with obstruction, two counts of perjury and two of making false statements. Karl Rove was not indicted today.

10. Bush Picks Appeals Court Judge to Succeed O'Connor on Court
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and CARL HULSE, Published: October 31, 2005
The president's nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. appeared to set up the confirmation battle that both sides have wanted for years.

So, in September four of the top 10 stories were editorials.

In October, none of them were, although Maureen Dowd did get some great run with her magazine piece.

I have to believe that the excellent journalists who write editorials at the New York Times; Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich, Paul Krugman, Thomas Friedman, David Brooks, Nicholas Kristof, Bob Herbert, and John Tierney are all pretty bummed out that their online audience has gone down the tubes.

I wonder how long it will be before they get really pissed off about this.