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Historically, media companies have operated in separate industries. That is, the newspaper business functioned separately from book publishing, which operated differently from radio, which in turn worked totally unlike the film industry.

The Internet has changed all that. This medium has not only provided a whole new portal through which people can consume older media forms, it has also pressured virtually all older media companies to establish an online presence. Today newspapers, magazines, book publishers, music companies, radio and TV stations, and film studios all have Web sites or mobile apps marketing digital versions and ancillaries of their products.

This development has presented new opportunities for some media organizations. For example, it enables noncommercial public broadcasters to bring in ad revenue. Public radio and TV stations, which are prohibited by FCC regulations from taking advertising, face no such prohibitions online. Many have begun raising money by posting advertisements on their Web sites.

However, the Internet has also posed new challenges for some older media companies, who must navigate territory with less established payment models. For instance, when Internet sites like YouTube display content from traditional broadcast and cable services, the companies selling those services lose direct-payment revenue every time someone consumes that content on the Internet rather than paying for services. But this availability may also create exposure for media companies’ offerings. Traditional companies must then ask whether that new awareness translates into an increase in paying customers. Internet-based companies like Hulu are already offering different levels of access: free, ad-supported but limited versions of their services alongside pay models with greater libraries of media offerings and more versatile formats.