Newshounds, newsmakers and news writers ought to salivate at the idea of a grand museum to the First Amendment on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., in Washington, D.C. Organizers of the Newseum plan exactly that, with a grand opening in October 2007.
It promises serious analysis, not just cheerleading, for news media, according to the New York Times:
The Newseum’s goal is to present the “first rough draft of history” in all its glory and some of its shame, impressing upon visitors the importance of the First Amendment’s protections of a free press. In the glory department are Edward R. Murrow’s rooftop broadcasts from London during the Blitz; he is among the heroes of a short movie to be shown in the Newseum’s 4-D theater, where the seats will literally shake as German planes roar overhead.
The shame is evident in exhibits examining, among other things, Jayson Blair’s manufactured articles in The New York Times and Jack Kelley’s fabrications in USA Today. Videos address the use of anonymous sources and how bias can find its way into news accounts.
One of the museum’s major challenges will be to attract visitors at a time when surveys show that public respect for the news media has been ebbing. Charles L. Overby, chief executive of the Freedom Forum, the nonprofit organization that underwrites the Newseum, discussed the problem in an interview in his temporary office adjacent to the construction site.
“Our annual survey shows that 40 percent of the American public believes the press has too much freedom,” he said, adding that the museum’s job is to educate — in an engaging way.
The Newseum, he emphasized, is not meant to be a monument to the press, but to its freedom.
Because of the building’s location, one could do a tour of the FBI building, and close out the day with a tour of the Newseum, probably from the same bus stop.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 