The other day I posted a couple of notes about the new Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report on new and old media.

• Pew report shows gap in international views of old and new media
• Pew Report: Old Media/New Media

I saw in that two key issues that journalists and their bosses should be paying attention to.

1. New media depends on old media — or at least good old fashioned journalism.
2. People are interested in international news but are getting it from non-US sources.

Without good old fashioned journalism — multiple sources, checking facts, providing context — the news content of the Internet becomes opinion pieces instead of journalism.

The numbers speak for themselves. U.S. newspapers and broadcasts make up three-quarters of the items linked by American bloggers.

Web only generated material being passed on accounts for less than 1 percent.

So there is a value to professional journalism. The issue is finding a way to get paid for it. And that is what has to be addressed quickly.

On the other point — international news — the survey showed that foreign news — actual non-USA news items, rather than US foreign policy or military issues — was the second most blogged item. And yet people largely depended on non-US media outlets for this news.

There is an interest in news from other countries. Some of it frivolous. But most of it useful to understanding what is going on in the world.

The interconnection of local and global economies and societies no longer gives us the option of remaining isolated between two oceans. There are always local links in an international story and an international link to a local story. It just takes a reporter and editor with a view that extends beyond the city limits to see the connections.