By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President

On Friday, the Newseum opens. According to the Newseum, the 250,000-square-foot museum of news offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

The Newseum is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on America’s Main Street, between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. The exterior’s architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by can watch the museum fulfill its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other.

The Newseum features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. It offers a unique environment that takes museumgoers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made.

But not everyone is thrilled with the Newseum. Jack Shafer at Slate called it four-years-in-the-building, seven-story, steel-and-glass monument to journalistic vanity.

Regardless of the various opinions, I will likely plunk down my $20 if/when I’m in DC to see the Newseum. I, personally, think it sounds pretty cool.