When I picked up my copy of Barron's weekly business journal from the front lawn this weekend I immediately felt something was different -- the weight of the journal and the thickness were definitely reduced by my measure. As a big fan of Barron's I thought, oh no, they are in trouble too.

When I examined it I found that the July 4 edition was a scant 32 pages. Last week's June 29 edition was 40 pages -- whoa -- a 20% reduction! That's a big reduction.

I keep my old copies of Barron's, so I was able to go back in time a ways to see if this was trend or an anomaly. First off I realized that the journal does fluctuate in length from week to week seemingly with the average being about 44 pages in the past few months. Then I went back further and noticed the trend was moving down. I thought well maybe it was the time if year, and of course the economy had to affect it too.

To all the television executives who shiver at the statistics of higher internet usage amid lowered television rankings, has there ever been any thought to the increase in internet usage actually leading to increased television viewing? Just like those who download music illegally to get a taste -- and then "buy" an entire album afterwards --- the same connection may exist between content in the internet world and content from the broadcast television world. Maybe.

Consumers just want more television -- and a barrage of announcements support that over and over again each and every year. When Microsoft and Apple are trying like mad to move content off the PC and into the living room (read: onto the television), you know that the cultural significance of the boob tube is not going away so easily, even as the numbers of viewers for some programs wane. But -- alas -- the broadcast networks and even cable television networks may have new competition -- where tons of new content is piped from a PC or directly from the internet into the television set in the living room. That is the thought that scares existing television network executives -- and it should.

Televisions as equipment are not going away -- but the supply of content could be changing with the advent and popularity of broadband internet piped into homes. Ever heard of IPTV? That's just one in a slew of new technologies that could be changing things -- but all the while, that new flat-panel HDTV isn't going anywhere soon.