Do you think this division is a reflection of the what industry and academia value...practice vs. theory? Perhaps individuals that are frustrated with the lack of academic support for their research areas take both their theory and practice into the industrial realm.
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I'm not sure, but I do agree with Moulthrop that academics tend to be invested with the word, and have clearly had success manipulating it for their field, and hence would naturally shy away from anything that asks them to place the visual media on par with language. So I don't see many leaving academia for industry, particularly if they have tenure.
As far as whether there is academic support for new media, I believe there is once the brave ones lead the front. Hence film departments have sprouted up all over the country (yet, most are still theory/criticism as film production is very expensive). Whether other areas of new media would leave for industry, I do not know - but perhaps? I did watch one creative company, Virgin Interactive, completely fall apart when we tried to take it up for an IPO, and the talent fled. Turns out a company is more than investors and management - the talent needs to be protected too. So sometimes industry isn't the best place to respect an artistic medium either.
I was coming form the viewpoint that once people get their PhDs (or perhaps before they even get that far) that industry sort of lures them away from the academy because their is less resistance to incorporating new technology and ideas.
These new ideas and technologies might not work, but you don't have to change an entire curriculum...and if these people are leaving the academy...in essence an army of leaders in new tech. and adopting new practices is leaving as well...leaving the academy with only a few of the "brave ones" you mentioned.
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