Sam Lowe
Cesar Millan
Chris McGinnis
Jason Fogelson
Bryson Forbes
Amy Graff
Karla Henriquez
Where Old News is Still Big News
June 26 2009 by Sam Lowe
My 40-plus years as a newspaper reporter played a big part in my desire to tour the Newseum, a new exhibition hall located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street N.W., between the White House and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. I was a bit hesitant at first, unsure of what to look for because the media aren't normally subjects for a museum. But what I found went far beyond my expectations.
A first look at the seven-level structure is most impressive. The building's front consists of a 74-foot high engraving of the First Amendment etched into marble slabs, and an enormous glass wall that allows visitors a quick oversight to what's inside. And what's inside is impressive, even to jaded old newsmen like myself.
The Newseum features 14 main exhibition galleries that trace the news profession from the days of Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica," printed in 1475, to modern electronics. It contains 325,000 square feet of space dedicated to print news, radio, television and computers. Some illustrate the coverage of such events as Lincoln's assassination, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the destruction of the World Trade Center. The area dealing with Lincoln's murder features a bronze death mask surrounded by newspapers decrying the tragedy. A large portion of the Berlin Wall stands in another area, one side decorated with bright graffiti, the other side a bleak, dull gray. The 9/11 exhibit contains the transmission tower that sat atop one of the doomed buildings. It leans toward a multi-story wall covered with the front pages that recorded the tragedy from almost every newspaper in the world.
Visitors can watch up-to-the-minute news on television, make a video of themselves portraying a TV anchor, view Pulitzer Prize-winning news photographs, and enter a gallery that compares press freedoms in more than 190 countries. This area depicts some of the dangers reporters face while covering news around the world. Displays include a bullet-riddled truck that once carried newsmen in the Middle East, and the bombed-out car in which an Arizona reporter was mortally wounded.
If you go there, be prepared to spend a long time. But even then, you won't see it all.
The Newseum is open daily except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. For more, log on to www.newseum.org or call 1-888-NEWSEUM (639-7386).
As the World's Largest Hotel Chain, we know it is a big world out there
with lots of places to see and experience. Best Western's You Must Be
Trippin' travel blog offers travel tips, ideas and feature destinations
to make your next trip a success. We are also interested in where
you've been trippin' and invite you to share your travel ideas, tips
and destinations with us.
Please wait while my tweets load 
