Will it be defined by a declining legacy media; the diminution of important journalism like international reporting; the end of whole disciplines like photojournalism and investigative reporting? Or will the old be replaced by robust new ways of learning and sharing the news, like participatory journalism, ambitious freelancing, and news satire? What's clear is that the shift from analog to digital is more than just technological—it is a rift between eras. Reporting has evolved from one-way to many-to-many; from exclusive and expensive to accessible and cheap. The ability to create and share news is now handheld and ubiquitous.

But it would be a grave mistake to forget the fundamental role of news—to nourish an informed democracy. As Thomas Jefferson noted in 1789, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government." With that in mind, our task in this '2 of The Future of News is to explore whether today's news is intellectually closer to broccoli ... or bon bons.