What's the real story behind TNS' numbers?

So TNS Media Intelligence just came out with its first quarter ad spending numbers and if you're in traditional media, now's as good a time as any to reach for the meds. Ad spending is down .3 percent to just under $35 billion, with big advertisers such as General Motors and Procter & Gamble cutting budgets. But it's strange how the reports I've read thus far simply assume this is because of the usual blend of stuff that makes advertisers cut budgets, without asking whether there might be something else at work: the rise in accountable media. I don't want to sit around tooting the Internet's horn too much, but while many categories are hurting, Web spending was up more than 16 percent (and Hispanic advertising, 14 percent). And TNS doesn't even measure search advertising. Then, look at the fact that one of the culprits is the automotive category. But wait, before you go blaming that on Detroit's woes, spending is down for both foreign and domestic. Could it be possible that automotive -- which can make one of the clearest connection between online advertising and sales -- is souring on TV? Just asking. BUT THERE'S MORE: Now the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers are saying that Internet advertising was up in Q1 to a new record of $4.9 billion, a 26 percent increase over the same period last year.