There’s a theme to a few recent stories hitting the Internet this week: go small to earn big.This is apparent in a new study by comScore that found that U.S. audiences are now spending the majority of their time consuming digital media within mobile apps versus mobile web browsing or desktop usage. Facebook is the #1 app, and overall app usage is higher on smartphones than tablets. I deduce that this is because smartphones apps are great for drive-time consumption, a key time to engage audiences.Meanwhile, The L.A. Times is conducting a market research survey to see if its audience would be interested in consuming news via a smaller print paper.  The paper’s current broadsheet is about 11 1/8 inches wide and 22 7/8 inches long. While Nancy Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Times, said the newspaper isn’t considering changing to a tabloid format, the survey is smart.For years, newspapers have lamented the decline of readership, claiming audiences don’t read. But as I see it, the more fundamental problem is that broadsheet newspapers are an outdated delivery mechanism — like milkmen and bank tellers. People still want the news — even good, non-celebrity news. But only a very small percentage of the population has the leisure time to spend two hours after they get home in the evening to read the paper. And while I would love to read a paper on my commute, the combination of maneuvering a broadsheet and being concerned with ink smudges on my work clothes make reading a paper a bad decision every day.All publications need to constantly assess “What’s the best way to deliver the news/information we provide to our audience, in a way that matches their lifestyle?” Just making this question the topic of a brainstorming session can lead to fruitful innovation (without the pitfalls of disruption).The Toronto Star seems to understand this idea. Just this week, Ken Doctor writes about the legacy brand’s $10 million niche print business: a 16-page New York Times International Weekly and 12-page  New York Times Book Review, Canada Edition – to Sunday readers. The Star was able to come up with this idea by conducting market research – more than most newspapers do – and by tapping into quality content that was not being delivered in a convenient way for readers. Further proof of the success of this innovation is the fact that, starting in October, The Dallas Morning News will be launching its own 16-page broadsheet, 12-page tabloid page supplement in its Sunday bundle for $1.99 a week.