Are newspapers on their way out? Some people say yes, mostly younger individuals who are used to reading the news on their phone, seeing it on the tv, or just not even look at the news; and then there are the people who say no, the older mass of people who grew up with the newspaper being the main source to getting the news on a daily basis. Well, are they? Though many people would say yes, even more people would say no. How could they be? Newspapers date back to 59 B.C.E: The Acta Diurna, meaning "the journal newspaper" though the newspaper was made of metal rather than paper. Then the Publick Occurrences came out in the United States in 1689, the first newspaper, even if it did only last one issue. The Zenger trial came up, a journalist named John Peter Zenger having criticized William Cosby, the Rhode Island colonial governor. In this era of time, this was of equivalence to criticizing the king. The grand jury refused to charge Zenger after the mayor admitted to the charges that had been the source of criticism. The judge charged Cospy with libel, and after this trial, freedom of the press was a more prominent law, thus being the first thing mentioned in the Bill of Rights. Party papers came out, telling citizens to vote for their party. Through all that history, newspapers still exist. There are daily newspapers, both local and national. And now, with all that in mind, the question again: Are newspapers, existing for almost 2100 years, going to be taken over by more high tech ways of getting the news? Many people are asking that question in the face of the Internet, but there are strong reasons keeping the answer still yes:

• They're portable
• Low tech
• Cheap
• Replaced easily
• Very traditional for families
• They are physical objects

And while smart phones and news shows can match up to one or more, none but one can match all: newspapers. Are newspapers going out? Not today, son.