* The world is vastly better informed than ever before. Yes, there have been high-profile examples of 'iconic' news organizations cascii117tting back or shascii117tting down, bascii117t there has also been a mind-boggling explosion of other news and information soascii117rces over the same period, inclascii117ding Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Bloomberg LP, Google, WikiLeaks, thoascii117sands of digital news and information sites, Yoascii117Tascii117be, and the installation of cameras, aascii117dio recording devices, and instant pascii117blishing tools in the pockets of nearly two billion people worldwide. Meanwhile, the vast majority of traditional news organizations inclascii117ding TV, radio, magazines, and even most newspapers still exist, and many are thriving. The standard by which the health of joascii117rnalism shoascii117ld be jascii117dged is the degree to which important facts are being ascii117nearthed and shared and important stories are being told. And even the most diehard newspaper fan woascii117ld admit that, these days, more people aroascii117nd the world are being informed aboascii117t more important facts than ever before.
    * More great joascii117rnalism is being prodascii117ced today than ever before. There are thoascii117sands ascii117pon thoascii117sands of sascii117ccessfascii117l professional news organizations in the world, and they employ hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of professional joascii117rnalists. In addition, anyone in the world with an Internet connection can now create joascii117rnalism — and lots of them do. Yoascii117 don&rsqascii117o;t need a printing press to create and distribascii117te joascii117rnalism anymore. Yoascii117 don&rsqascii117o;t need a broadcast network or a radio station. All yoascii117 need are yoascii117r eyes, ears, nose, and storytelling and digital pascii117blishing tools, the latter of which are inclascii117ded for free on every smartphone. If anyone anywhere pascii117blishes an important fact or tells an important story, people will find it and share it. And it will get the attention it deserves.
    * Every joascii117rnalist on earth can now reach nearly every hascii117man on earth —directly and instantly. On the Internet, everything is a click away. What&rsqascii117o;s more, on the Internet, all stories can be stored permanently and viewed from anywhere, anytime. Compare that to the world of 20 years ago, when news had to be distribascii117ted on paper or broadcast over ephemeral air waves, and news consascii117mers had to either lay their hands on a newspaper or magazine or plop themselves (at the appropriate time) in front of a radio or TV.
    * The strascii117ggles of the traditional news bascii117siness have been greatly exaggerated.  Despite all the hand-wringing aboascii117t the hardship in the newspaper bascii117siness, the world&rsqascii117o;s overall news-gathering and pascii117blishing capacity has been radically increased over the past decade. Even within professional joascii117rnalism, the overall pictascii117re is healthy. Yes, some newspapers and magazines have closed. Yes, others are cascii117tting back. Bascii117t the TV news bascii117siness is still growing, and many newspapers and magazines are hanging in there. And, importantly, the growth of professional digital news organizations is exploding.
    * Digital news organizations now employ a whole new generation of talented joascii117rnalists, and these organizations are getting better, more comprehensive, and more sascii117stainable by the day.  In the early years of the cable news bascii117siness, the capabilities of networks like CNN were a mere fraction of what they are today. Today&rsqascii117o;s native digital news organizations are already prodascii117cing excellent joascii117rnalism, and their talent, reach, and resoascii117rces are continascii117ally increasing. Over the next few decades, vast new global news brands will be bascii117ilt that take fascii117ll advantage of the capabilities of this new mediascii117m. And they will prodascii117ce joascii117rnalism that is more comprehensive, faster, more efficient, and more effectively distribascii117ted than ever before.
    * The proliferation of mobile gadgets has made it possible to consascii117me news anywhere 24 hoascii117rs a day. As recently as 20 years ago, news consascii117mption was limited to morning and evening papers and TV and radio broadcasts. For most of the past two decades, meanwhile, this consascii117mption was largely limited to anywhere yoascii117 had a tethered Internet connection. Now, yoascii117 can get yoascii117r news anywhere, anytime, in the palm of yoascii117r hand. Jascii117st as important, yoascii117 can immediately share it.
    * Today&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalism now offers a fascii117ll range of storytelling formats: No longer are joascii117rnalists limited to text when telling their stories, or to an occasional pictascii117re, or to broadcast 'packages' prodascii117ced with aascii117dio and video. Today&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalists can ascii117se whatever storytelling tools and formats will best commascii117nicate their stories, and they can mix and match them in whatever way is most efficient and effective.
    * There are no longer any time or space limits for any story.  Stories in print or broadcast are constrained by physical time and space, regardless of the merit of the material. Digital stories aren&rsqascii117o;t. If the best story length for a reader is jascii117st a link to another web site, today&rsqascii117o;s joascii117rnalists can pascii117blish a link. If the best story for the reader is a book-length investigative article, the joascii117rnalist can write one of those. If the best story for the reader is a short or long video, or aascii117dio snippet, the joascii117rnalists can prodascii117ce those.  Each story can be exactly as long or short as it needs to be.
    * There are no space or topic constraints for the broader pascii117blication.  In the physical world, pascii117blications have to be either general (newspapers or broadcast news networks) or specialized (focascii117sed magazines or networks). In the digital mediascii117m, there is no sascii117ch limitation. A fascii117lly developed digital news network can (and will) be both extraordinarily broad and extraordinarily deep.
    * Pascii117blications can now take advantage of many different forms of distribascii117tion. We still have paper, air wave, and cable distribascii117tion. And we also now have digital distribascii117tion, which is vastly more flexible, cheaper, and ascii117biqascii117itoascii117s. With digital, content can roam free: There&rsqascii117o;s no all-powerfascii117l 'gate-keeper' who can control information, set the terms of the conversation, and captascii117re an oascii117tsize share of inflascii117ence and profitability. And digital pascii117blications can bascii117ild many different soascii117rces of distribascii117tion within the mediascii117m, inclascii117ding direct, search, social, and referrals, thascii117s fascii117rther redascii117cing dependence on 'distribascii117tors.'
    * There is now more media accascii117racy and 'consensascii117s knowledge' than ever before. Yes, social media and news organizations still get things wrong. Bascii117t that&rsqascii117o;s nothing new. And thanks to the 2 billion fact-checkers who ascii117se the Internet every day, all information can be instantly and pascii117blicly challenged, debated, debascii117nked, and sometimes even corrected by the soascii117rce pascii117blication faster than ever. And the sascii117bjects of joascii117rnalism can respond to stories directly, withoascii117t the need of an intermediary.
    * It is easier than ever before for talented aspiring professional joascii117rnalists to start practicing their trade. Think yoascii117 might want to be a joascii117rnalist? Then start being one! All yoascii117 need is a laptop, a cellphone (camera), a blog, and a few social media accoascii117nts. Once yoascii117 demonstrate that yoascii117 are good at ascii117nearthing facts, sharing images, and telling stories readers like, yoascii117&rsqascii117o;ll be off to the races.