All news that's fit to exhibit at the Newseum
A must for visitors interested in how the system of American democracy evolved and works are trips to the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court buildings in Washington, D.C. But since a democracy cannot work without the presence of a free press, visitors should now add Newseum, a futuristic devoted to the media, to their travel itineraries. Contributor Yenni Djahidin takes a tour of the site which opened last month.
WASHINGTON D.C. (JP): It sounded like the typical closing remarks from an American TV news show.
"That's our news for today. This is Mike, and this is Joshua reporting live from the White House."
The "journalists" were actually Mike Allan and his five-year old son Joshua, who clung to him while he read from a camera teleprompter at the Newseum, the new news museum minutes from Washington, D.C.
The US$500 million facility is now one of the city's hottest tourist attractions. Thousands of people have visited it since it was opened by U.S. Vice President Al Gore last month.
Newseum is funded by Freedom Forum, a private international foundation which focuses exclusively on the media.
Unlike most museums, Newseum is an interactive museum that looks at the news -- past, present and future.
"This is a place where people from different generations and backgrounds can come and learn more about the media," Freedom Forum International Program Manager Alice Bishop says.
The goal is to help increase public understanding of the media.
Many Americans don't understand journalism, and they often blame the profession for many of society's ills.
"The public doesn't understand what a journalist does in any given day, or what issues a journalist has to face in any given day," Bishop says in her office in the Newseum.
The museum is located in an office building in Rosslyn, Virginia, along the Potomac River. It is a three-story structure of more than 23,000 square meters, the majority of it used for exhibition space. A domed theater has the area's largest high definition video screen. Inside the Newseum is a 41-meter-long video news wall; a history of news gathering through the centuries; two mini-theaters; a radio-TV broadcast studio and control room; a gift shop; and a cafe with countertop computers named News Byte.
Admission is free to Newseum and it is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
Visitors can play the part of a reporter or television newscaster, or experiment with cameras and interactive computers.
Newseum staff Dori Stewart says the interactive newsroom floor is the most popular attraction, drawing not only kids but adults.
To play at being a TV reporter or a newscaster, one has simply to sign-in and a friendly employee will assist you. The broadcaster-to-be will be given a choice of background photographs: The White House, Pentagon or a weather map.
While you read from a teleprompter, the Newseum staff makes a video recording of the report. Visitor do not have to pay for the video unless they want to take it home.
"We enjoyed it very much, especially the kids who love to see themselves on television," said Michelle, who came from Texas with her husband and two children.
Visitors can also pretend to interview famous journalists, such as Peter Arnett, Bob Woodward and Ted Koppel, through an interactive computer. A pre-recorded video of the journalists will be played to answer selected questions.
"It's great," said Baars Bultman, a teacher from Michigan who brought 20 high school students along with him, including Indonesian Gita Nurpatria on an exchange program. "They try to cover all different aspects of journalism."
"I really like it. It's neat," said Gita Nurpatria after she tried on-camera reporting.
She also spotted The Jakarta Post template among hundreds of media names on a huge globe.
Ethics
The Ethics Center is a place where visitors can tackle the ethical problems that journalist face every day. "I don't think a lot of Americans appreciate the ethical dilemma that a lot of reporters face on a daily basis," said Bishop.
On a touch-screen computer, visitors are asked to solve ethical problems by choosing one of several options.
One recent and popular example was the Atlanta bombing during the Olympic Games in 1996. An anonymous source leaked the name of the U.S. government's prime suspect to the press. The suspect was not under arrest, but a newspaper printed his name which resulted in an 88-day media frenzy. The government later cleared him of any involvement; the journalist's dilemma is if you don't print the suspect's name, someone else will.
On the Newseum's second floor, a gift store sells souvenirs which carry brand names of different media organizations, such as ABC, CBS and CNN. If you like antiques, you can spend about $75 for an old framed newspaper.
After walking around the exhibitions, visitors can enjoy coffee and snacks at the News Byte cafe while surfing the Net.
Even the ladies room is different as quirky and unintentionally funny headlines adorn the walls. A women's publication in 1976 printed the headline Statistics on Women: Some Good and Some Bad. Another reads Dishonesty Policy Voted in By Senate from the Ball State Daily News in 1985.
For those who like fresh air, there is a Freedom Park adjacent to the museum. It is a memorial to news pioneers and journalists killed in the line of duty and also displays newsworthy icons.
While Newseum has attracted lots of students, not everyone is impressed by the journalism as a profession.
"It looks like a fun and interesting job, but I hate writing," Matthew Dressel said.
The Newseum is located at http://www.newseum.org.
The writer is Washington correspondent for Media Indonesia daily newspaper.