Massive Newseum opens window on journalism

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Newseum, the giant, costly new temple that celebrates newsgathering, is reopening here near the National Mall with unmistakably grander ambitions than mere entertainment.

It starts with the 74-foot-high Tennessee marble tablet on the front facade etched with the words of the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Inside, the message is unmistakable, too: From every frenetic corner, the Newseum fairly shouts, "News is necessary to a functioning democracy. News is fun, news is cool, news matters."

The goal, says Newseum board chairman Alberto Ibargüen, is to spark "a non-scolding, non-castor-oil, fun and interactive conversation about our five basic rights (in the First Amendment). This is an opportunity for incredibly effective teaching."

Six years after the original, smaller Newseum across the Potomac River in Arlington, Va., closed, the new Newseum opens April 11 in a $450 million, 643,000-square-foot series of translucent rectangular boxes (including attached office and apartment complex) on Pennsylvania Avenue across the street from the august National Gallery of Art and a few blocks from the Capitol.

"We've taken the success of the first Newseum and made it bigger and better," says deputy director Susan Bennett. The exhibit space alone is 250,000 square feet (triple the original), and it's so high-tech and interactive, "it's a different museum every day."

So, prepare for razzle-dazzle. Prepare for up-to-the-minute museum design. Also, prepare to pay $20 — a little less than the $21.15 to get into Madame Tussauds wax museum here and a little more than the $18 for the International Spy Museum nearby, but way more than the free museums of the government-funded Smithsonian. On the other hand, it's probably worth it; after all, a decent ticket to a Nationals baseball game costs $20.

The Newseum opens just as traditional media organizations are trying to cope with journalism scandals, struggling newspapers, spreading layoffs, falling advertising revenue and a dramatically altered business model.