In truth, not so good:

Experian Hitwise thinks it has the answer to the first question. The research and intelligence firm analyzed traffic data for NYTimes.com from before and after the paywall was erected. According to its data, traffic has declined overall by 5% to 15%.

Hitwise measured the change in total unique visitors between February 22 and March 5 as well as the number of visitors between March 29 and April 9. Overall, it was no contest: unique traffic has dropped since the paywall, with most declines in the 5% to 10% range.

The effects of the NYTimes.com paywall are far more pronounced on the website's total pageviews, though. Using the same time period, Hitwise found that pageviews dropped between 11% and 30% after the paywall was erected. Pageviews typically exceeded 5.8 million before the paywall; after it went into effect, the site's overall traffic has dropped under this number.

It's a shame you can't use the online Times to wrap fish or put in the bottom of your birdcage. But this is America and I'm sure someone will eventually find a use for the Times website.