12,000,000 papers are sold every day. But when the news is available at the click of a button, why is the newspaper still alive?

After all, a newspaper only comes out once a day - the news can be out of date before it even reaches your hands. However, for many people, it's the preferred method for them to get the news.

Papers provide lots of detail, opinions and images to accompany articles. In Norwich we are especially lucky to have two local newspapers, which pay particular interest to local events and issues.

The first medium to challenge newspapers was radio, which is where some of the most famous news stories were heard. For example, the news that we were going to war was broadcast via radio. It's also the first example of news becoming mobile, the introduction of radios in cars and portable radios meant people could get news anywhere.

The first TV news bulletin was described as an 'illustrated summary of the news'. TV news has become a regular on the schedules and provides more than just a daily update. It combines photos, interviews and video footage to back up a story.

One particular story, which had a huge impact on the public was Michael Buerk's report on the famine in Ethiopia in 1984. The report led to LiveAid, a celebrity fundraiser event. If TV could have this impact, before social media, imagine the impact it could be having nowadays, with social media...

Social media has brought with it many different formats of news, but it isn't always having positive impacts.

Very recently, actor Robert Redford had to issue a statement that he 'wasn't dead' after a fake Sky News twitter account tweeted that the actor had died whilst on holiday.

There are also many positives to social media and online news – notifications delivered straight to your phone let you know of breaking news straight away.

But how do you find the truth amongst many lies? After all, social media lets anyone be a reporter. Keep an eye out for the infamous blue ticks to show verification of journalists. It's also always best to check out the details of a story before assuming that it's true.

So what does the future hold for journalism?

I think that in the near future, newspapers will still be around, there's clearly still the demand for them now – I can't see that changing soon. In the next 50 years, that could be completely different. I think the way our news is shared at the moment is ideal, it has a mixture of in print and online. If people who prefer to read a newspaper, want to buy a paper, they can. But equally, I think social media accommodates to the younger audience, and cleverly informs them of the current affairs.

In conclusion to my question, I guess I don't 100pc know what the future holds – nobody does. But I'm looking forward to finding out!

Emily Oxbury, 14, Thorpe St Andrew School