• Forbes, Friday, June 4, 2010 12:04 AM

The media industry is changing and many traditional news companies are struggling to adapt to it. Hundreds of daily news publications around the U.S. have closed up shop in the past several years and even Newsweek is for sale. Newer companies that venture investors are pouring capital into will do this with fresh business models geared directly toward digital platforms that use less overhead, notes Forbes.

So how can traditional media companies compete with these newer companies? "It's a classic innovator's dilemma," remarks Jeff Bussbang, General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners. "I don't think it's going to end well for many traditional media companies, I'm afraid." Traditional media companies must approach their online content differently than their offline content.

One option is to engage readers in the social media space, understanding what impacts audiences across a wide array of platforms. As the Pew study confirms, staying relevant in the blogosphere or on YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, says Bulletproof Blog.

The study reaffirms the need for an integrated approach to digital communications. With only 25% of headlines being shared between blogs and traditional media outlets (and fewer still when compared with other platforms), companies must be ready to advance their brands with different narratives on each of these different channels.

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