Since I just took Exhibition design from Ralph Appelbaum I know this place inside out, upside down. It is probably the most important advancement in museum technology being built right now. Robbin Murphy NYU/Museum Studies [log in to unmask] =========================forwarded text follows==================== NEWSEUM NEWS Greetings! If you get this message, and would like to continue to receive updates on our project, please let me know at [log in to unmask] Let me introduce myself. I'm Eric Newton. I was Bob and Nancy Maynard's managing editor at the Oakland Tribune from 1990-1992, a rich period during which we were fortunate enough to receive more than 150 journalism awards, including a Pulitzer, working with the most diverse staff on a major newspaper in the country. I'm now managing editor of The Newseum, which, when it opens in 1997, will be a one-of-a-kind educational facility, the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to news. Because of your keen interest in journalism history, I thought you'd want to know about this exciting project. Here's our fact sheet. I'm happy to answer questions. THE NEWSEUM Who is building The Newseum? The Freedom Forum, the world's largest media-oriented private foundation, will operate The Newseum as one of its major educational-outreach programs. Allen H. Neuharth, chairman of The Freedom Forum, is chairman of The Newseum Board of Trustees. Charles L. Overby, president and CEO of The Freedom Forum, also serves as president of The Newseum. The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan, international organization dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. Other main operating programs are The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University in New York City, and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Other activities include: journalism education and professional programs; support for minority journalism students and education; and international press freedom programs. What is it? The Newseum will be the first international museum dedicated to the past, present and future of news, news media and press freedom. It will include state-of-the-art interactive technologies that will enable visitors to explore media-related history, processes, personalities and issues at individual levels of knowledge and interest. There will also be selected artifacts to help tell the history of newspapers, news magazines, and radio and television journalism. A 220-seat theater/auditorium will feature showings of The Newseum's signature film--a 70mm presentation projected onto a large screen. The multipurpose facility will also be used for lectures, panel discussions and other live events. Where will it be? On the first three levels of The Freedom Forum World Center in Arlington, Va., adjacent to Washington, D.C. Projected size is 55,000 square feet. Besides exhibits and the theater/auditorium, The Newseum will include classrooms, a store and offices. When will it be built? Construction is scheduled to start in 1994. It will involve erecting new structures attached to the World Center as well as converting portions of the existing building into museum spaces. The Newseum is expected to open to the public in 1997. How much will it cost? The Freedom Forum Trustees have appropriated $28.3 million in capital investment to build The Newseum. How is it being funded? The Newseum is supported entirely by the The Freedom Forum endowment, established by newspaper publisher Frank E. Gannett in 1935. The endowment has grown to more than $720 million in diversified, managed assets. Who is working on the project? Executive Director is Chris Wells. She is assembling a staff that is expected to number about 35 by the time The Newseum opens. During the developmental stage, the staff is being supplemented by a number of consultants, including Ralph Appelbaum Associates of New York City, the largest interpretive museum design firm in the world.