DC's Newseum Launches
Meet the Newseum, the latest Arlington resident to flee the 'burbs for D.C. The museum, which opens to the public today, is at Pennsylvania Ave. and 6th St., NW., giving it a stunning view of the Capitol and proximity to thousands of fanny-packing (and ticket-buying) tourists. Artifacts range from pieces of the Berlin Wall to a bullet-ridden truck Time reporters drove through the Balkans in the 1990s. (No word on whether Hillary accompanied them.) In a town of free museums, the $20 price tag for the Newseum seems steep, but it's worth it. Totally broke? Check it out on your lunch break. Admission is free today only. Inside, some of the exhibits and items that make it worth a stop.
The First Amendment Tablet: Stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Newseum, and it's the first thing you'll notice. It took 50 tons of Tennessee marble to create this mammoth testament to the freedom of the press. Nearby, newspaper front pages from all 50 states and countries across the world decorate the building -- these are changed by museum staff each morning. Best of all, you can see this part of the Newseum for free.
News History Gallery: Visit the News History Gallery to see the evolution of journalism. Interactive kiosks allow you to browse historic newspaper front pages and magazine covers. Interested in seeing how journalism went digital? Don't miss the Internet, TV and Radio Gallery.
Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery: Check out more than 1,000 Pulitzer-prize-winning photographs at this exhibit. Can't make it to the museum? You can also look at some of these arresting images online. For the exhibit, the Newseum interviewed sixty-eight photographers who had won the prize.
Interactive Newsroom: This part of the museum is sure to be one of the biggest draws and the longest waits. Visitors pose in front a DC scene such as the National Mall and then read a news report off a teleprompter. You'll be able to view your on-air antics in a video posted online the next day. The teleprompter runs a little slowly, so your news report may be stilted, but hopefully that's a kink they'll work out soon.
9/11 Gallery: This gallery shows how the news media covered one of the greatest tragedies in American history. The twisted steel of an antenna from one of the towers is surrounded by news coverage of the terrorist attacks. The exhibit also pays homage to photojournalist William Biggart, who died covering the story.
Berlin Wall Gallery: After Mikhail Gorbachev allowed Berliners to "tear down that wall," eight pieces of it ended up in the Newseum. This exhibit chronicles journalism's role in that collapse.
Great Books Gallery: As every grade school kid who has read Fahrenheit 451 knows, books are one of the keys to a free society. Visit the Great Books Gallery to see copies of documents that changed the world, including the from Magna Carta and the Constitution.
World News Gallery: This exhibit showcases journalism around the world, examining the varying degrees of freedom of the press in different countries. The bullet-ridden jeep Time reporters drove through the Balkans in the 1990s is here, as is a large map highlighting press freedoms (or the lack thereof) around the globe.
First Amendment Gallery: The First Amendment Gallery looks at the court cases, legislation and movements that affect Americans' First Amendment rights. From the Patriot Act to Tinker v. Des Moines, it's all here.
Journalists' Memorial: This exhibit honors reporters, photographers, editors and broadcasters who died while pursuing a story. Their names are etched on a two-story glass structure, and information on their lives is available in interactive kiosks. Photographs of the journalists also decorate the gallery. Check out the Committee to Protect Journalists to learn more about promoting freedom of the press.
