The freeness of tv is a relic of the broadcast era when it was impossible to charge for TV usage. People now pay for cable, and people long paid for print. People also pay for iphone apps. I think the freeness of the web is due to an accident/stupidity of the web browser creators in not building an easy, automatic payment system into the web browser itself, thus creating a considerable penny-gap problem.
People don't really pay for print. Generally speaking, the fee that most print publications charge is more about qualifying their readers for advertisers (e.g. people who will pay money to read about X) than anything else.
Not sure who down-voted you, because while I generally disagree, you make a really good point...why the hell haven't browser makers built an integrated payments platform? They're probably better positioned than almost anyone to do so, and it would instantly turn all Safari, Chrome, and IE from weird strategic products into cash machines. And it would free Firefox from relying on the search engines for their revenue.
