US: Newseum grand opening on April 11
Posted by Carolyn Lo on April 4, 2008 at 9:23 AM
On April 11, the $450 million Newseum will open its doors to the public for a $20 admission fee. Located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., the Newseum will hopefully "provide visitors with a memorable - and informative - experience," according to Charles Overby, the Newseum's Chief Executive."The purpose is not to create a shrine glorifying journalists or replicating a reporter's DNA on white walls," said Overby.
The Newseum first opened in 1997 in
Rosslyn, a business neighborhood in Arlington, VA, which did not attract many tourists, thus the Freedom Forum, the nonpartisan foundation that Overby heads, worked on bringing a grander version of the museum to D.C. The Newseum includes more than 250,000 square feet of exhibition space spread through seven levels, a 50-ton marble tablet displaying the First Amendment, a chunk of the Berlin Wall in the Cold War newsgathering exhibition, and a September 11 exhibition. The Source, a restaurant run by chef Wolfgang Puck, is attached to the museum.
"It's somewhere unapologetically between the Smithsonian and Disney World," said Overby.
Each morning, the Newseum staff displays front-pages of newspapers from all 50 states and about 20 countries along Pennsylvania Avenue.
There are also many interactive activities for visitors: a chance to play television correspondent and trivia games (including solving newsroom dilemmas about ethics).
The Newseum does have its critics. Ana Marie Cox said, "Journalism is one of those things where it's hard to find totems to represent the history of journalism. The history of journalism writes itself."
ABC's Washington bureau Chief George Stephanopoulos said there's no museum that "can capture the actual making of the news, the actual craft of doing the job, but it can shed light on the history and sacrifices made."
Source: Politico (first photo), Newseum website (second photo)
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Here's an interesting question: if cheney were to use the f-word, and it happens to be in a situation where C-SPAN is broadcasting live (or CNN, or...) who gets fined by the FCC? And wouldn't that just be precious? I almost hate to say it, but I side ... Read More
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorsweblog.org%2Fnewsrooms_and_journalism%2F2008%2F04%2Fus_newseum_grand_opening_on_april_11.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="268" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newseum.png"><img alt="newseum.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newseum-thumb-276x206.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="206" width="276" /></a></form>On April 11, the $450 million <b>Newseum </b>will open its doors to the public for a $20 admission fee. Located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., the Newseum will hopefully "provide visitors with a memorable - and informative - experience," according to <b>Charles Overby</b>, the Newseum's Chief Executive.<br /><br />"The purpose is not to create a shrine glorifying journalists or replicating a reporter's DNA on white walls," said Overby.<br /><br />The Newseum first opened in 1997 in <form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="270" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/inside_newseum.png"><img alt="inside_newseum.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/inside_newseum-thumb-250x137.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="137" width="250" /></a></form>Rosslyn, a business neighborhood in Arlington, VA, which did not attract many tourists, thus the <b>Freedom Forum</b>, the nonpartisan foundation that Overby heads, worked on bringing a grander version of the museum to D.C. <br /><br />The Newseum includes more than 250,000 square feet of exhibition space spread through seven levels, a 50-ton marble tablet displaying the First Amendment, a chunk of the Berlin Wall in the <b>Cold War</b> newsgathering exhibition, and a <b>September 11</b> exhibition. <b>The Source</b>, a restaurant run by chef <b>Wolfgang Puck</b>, is attached to the museum.<br /><br />"It's somewhere unapologetically between the <b>Smithsonian</b> and <b>Disney World</b>," said Overby.<br /><br />Each morning, the Newseum staff displays front-pages of newspapers from all 50 states and about 20 countries along Pennsylvania Avenue.<br /><br />There are also many interactive activities for visitors: a chance to play television correspondent and trivia games (including solving newsroom dilemmas about ethics).<br /><br />The Newseum does have its critics. <b>Ana Marie Cox</b> said, "Journalism is one of those things where it's hard to find totems to represent the history of journalism. The history of journalism writes itself." <br /><br /><b>ABC's</b> Washington bureau Chief <b>George Stephanopoulos</b> said there's no museum that "can capture the actual making of the news, the actual craft of doing the job, but it can shed light on the history and sacrifices made."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9346.html">Politico</a> (first photo), <a href="http://www.newseum.org/">Newseum website</a> (second photo)<br /><br /> &title=US: <b>Newseum</b> grand opening on April 11){kind=link}
Just got back from it, opening day. The building is stunning and it fits well within its environment, next to the Canadian Embassy which has always been for many if not most Washingtonians the favorite piece of architecture in the greater Washington area.
George Stephanopoulos (sp?) will be broadcasting every Sunday evening from a studio that faces Pennsylvania Avenue with a prime view of the Capitol. Yes, there will be a glass wall that tourists in T-shirts and tube socks can wave through.
The 4D theater has its grand opening tomorrow, April 12. The preview audiences have said it's kind of silly, and if you want to avoid getting wet, sit towards the sides.
There is an incredibly wide projection screen on the 5th Floor that has an impressive multimedia round-up of major news stories over the past couple decades, and that was for me the highlight. Another enjoyable thing was to browse through drawers on that same level of original front pages of newspapers dating back over a century. Finally, blogging gets its proper recognition, including Matt Drudge ("The Drudge Report") and Anne Marie Cox ("Wonkette"). There's even a special section dedicated to citizen journalism such as cell phone video footage shot by a student during the Virginia Tech massacre.
Unfortunately, all this comes at an insanely prohibitive cost. It is the most expensive museum ever, mostly for its real estate, and the admission price will be $20. Across the street is the National Gallery of Art, containing one of the world's greatest general collections and just about every important traveling exhibition. $0. Then, a couple blocks away, the Natural History and American History museums. $0. And across the Mall, numerous other museums -- $0.
One easily gets the impression that this incredible new space was not primarily created for its museum patrons. They will be repaying the extraordinary costs of construction by hosting after-hours Washington galas and fundraisers, and by taping television programs in any of its several live studios.
Just today, it was widely advertised that the official opening ceremony would be at 2:00 p.m. I asked about it at 1:30 p.m., and was told by several, "It's by invitation only, but it will be shown on the big screen monitor in the atrium if you're interested."
That about sums it up.
Today I saw the museum director (who I recognized from the orientation movie) loudly asking the crowds to part like the Red Sea for a very old woman in a wheelchair, presumably a major donor. The old lady was mumbling about how crowded it was.
I read with interest your story on the Newsweum and thought you might be interested in this perspective as reported in the NY Post http://www.nypost.com/seven/04072008/gossip/pagesix/squabble_over_media_exhibit_105337.htm
April 7, 2008 -- THE brass in charge of the new $450 million Newseum - a Washington-based exhibit dedicated to the freedom of the press - are a big bunch of hypocrites who actually squash the rights of the media. That's the charge by Rosamunda Neuharth-Ozgo, who claims she's the love child of USA Today founder Al Neuharth, creator of the Freedom Forum, which funded the Newseum. Neuharth, she said, has never admitted he's her dad, even though he sent her $100 a month until she turned 21 and his name is on her birth certificate. "To me, the story is about the hypocrisy of Al Neuharth and the Freedom Forum. They make a mockery of the principles they claim they want to uphold," Ozgo told The Post's Keith Kelly, adding that the Freedom Forum once killed a bio of Neuharth because it was to contain word that he fathered an out-of-wedlock daughter and shut her out of his life. "They are supposed to be promoting journalistic integrity, but they suppress the news when it doesn't suit their needs." A Newseum flack had no comment and declined to put us on the phone with Neuharth.