Media

Newseum Roundup ($20 Admission Fee)

Posted by Erik Wemple on Apr. 8, 2008, at 3:38 pm

This Friday marks the opening of the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, a huge, ginormous day for journalists everywhere, even though the price of admission is set at $20.

Today on FishbowlD.C., you’ll get some quite good photographs of the place from the inside and outside, though not tons of insight on the $20 admission fee.

The Post’s Howard Kurtz did a wonderful review of Newseum in Sunday’s Style & Arts section, grappling head-on with the museum’s $20 admission fee. Kurtz noted that a family with two teenagers would pay $80 to get in. He wrote that the $20 admission fee “feels stiff.”

Months back, Slate’s Jack Shafer riffed about all the better ways to spend the stacks of cash that have been pumped into the Newseum. Shafer suggested pumping all the money into, like, endowing a newspaper and doing journalism! He addressed the issue of the Newseum’s $20 admission fee head-on. “Avoid the gilded disaster that is the Newseum. Avoid paying the $20 they charge for admission.”

USA Today did a wonderful job of plumbing the dynamics of the Newseum’s $20 admission fee, comparing it to other spendy museums nationwide.

It costs $20 to get into the Newseum.

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7 Comments

1. Adams Morgan April 8th, 2008
   5:14 pm

   It’s been more than 24 hours since the Post recieved six Pulitzer’s and yet nothing from you Mr. Wemple? Is it simply too painful for you to write one nice thing about the paper (although I will note that you did just compliment Howie Kurtz).

   BTW, “spendy”? How so “The Hills”.

2. Andrew Beaujon April 8th, 2008
   7:45 pm

   How about this, from Wemple’s post about Downie maybe or maybe not leaving:

   Despite the pain, Downie’s standing as a newsman has rarely appeared stronger. Last year was among the most astounding in terms of the Post’s impact. The investigation of Vice President Dick Cheney, a series on neglected soldiers at Walter Reed, and aggressive daily coverage of the massacre at Virginia Tech are all strong candidates for Pulitzer prizes. The paper’s Web site, too, is among the industry’s best.

   Oh, and AM? ZING!

3. tiger April 9th, 2008
   9:41 am

   so…what you’re saying is it takes 20 to get into the museum?

4. Adams Morgan April 9th, 2008
   10:09 am

   How is that a zing? He wrote that weeks ago. He’s failed to comment on the actual win (which was historic for the paper). And no offense, but the week’s old comment wasn’t necessarily a Wemple original…many folks in the industry were saying the same things about the Post’s potential to win for those pieces. He wasn’t exactly going out on a limb there.

5. Mark Athitakis April 9th, 2008
   10:35 am

   Must hurt, turning yourself like a pretzel like that. Zing!

6. Amanda Hess April 9th, 2008
   11:48 am

   He was complimenting you on your “Hills” zing, AM … not necessarily an Adams Morgan original, but we’ll take it!

7. Andrew Beaujon April 9th, 2008
   1:03 pm

   AM, we love you around here. Don’t ever change.

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