We started here in 1994. And we keep reminding ourselves of this question each time we approach a site design problem. The reason is simple. When a new medium arrives on the scene it's much too easy to see it as simply an extension of the old. So in the early days of television when they wanted to put on a play, they put television cameras where the audience usually sits.
Television is a close-up medium.
You need to get in the actor's face and you can't do that from the audience seats. In the early days of TV news they put a camera in front of a radio announcer reading the news. It looks humorous today, but that is th enormal thought pattern. But you can't treat media that way. Each has its special strengths and weaknesses.