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Royal Treatment for Fallen Celebrities

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Michael Jackson’s sudden death June 25 at 50 was international news, trumpeted by bold headlines and colorful graphics usually reserved for the deaths of kings, queens and other dignitaries.

Jackson and actress Farrah Fawcett, who died on the same day, were given front-page treatment fit for a "King of Pop" and America’s favorite angel.

A look through the Newseum’s collection of historic front pages, on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery, revealed that when A-list celebrities died young or at the peak of stardom, their deaths were given A-one treatment, occupying most, if not all, of Page One.

When heartthrob actor Rudolph Valentino died in August 1926 of "poisoning of the heart walls," the Los Angeles Evening Herald published a "special extra edition" with every detail of the actor’s life and death. The "sheik," as Valentino was called, was 31 years old.

"Even as life was ebbing away and darkness setting in," the Herald reported, "he turned his dark, handsome face to those gathered at the bedside and, with a wan smile, said: ‘Don’t pull the curtains down, I’m feeling fine and I want the sunlight to greet me.’"

In 1962, the "unclad body" of 36-year-old actress Marilyn Monroe was found in her bed. "Sleeping Pill Overdose Blamed," the Los Angeles Times announced on its front page, which promised more photos and stories on the star’s life. Monroe’s death overshadowed news on the same page that the Soviet Union had tested a 40-megaton nuclear bomb high in the atmosphere.

"Memphis Leads World in Mourning for Elvis Presley," the singer’s hometown Memphis Press-Scimitar declared in 1977. The paper announced that it would print a special "Elvis Presley Edition" in conjunction with Memphis’s other major newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, to meet the demands for souvenir copies. "The King," as Presley was called, was 42 years old.

"Humans have always been interested in the particularly powerful, beautiful, accomplished — and we seem to take a certain perverse satisfaction in watching these people, whom we have elevated, brought down to earth," said Mitchell Stephens, professor of journalism at New York University and a Newseum consultant. "Death, which has always been big news — perhaps the biggest news — certainly brings [them] down to earth."

On Dec. 9, 1980, the Liverpool Echo blanketed its front page with the death of the city’s native son, former Beatle John Lennon.

"After a man police described as a ‘local screwball’ pumped five bullets into Lennon, he yelled ‘I’m shot,’ and staggered up a few steps into the apartment building where he lived," the Echo reported. "And as the 40-years-old [sic] superstar lay dying in the arms of his wife, Yoko Ono, he whispered ‘Help me,’ according to neighbour Carrie Rouse."

When Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Britain’s News of the World printed a "6 a.m. shock issue." The "full tragedy" of the death of the 36-year-old princess was continued on pages 2 and 3.

USA Today devoted two sections of its July 19, 1999, edition to the death of 38-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr., considered the crown prince of America’s "royal" family. Coverage of Kennedy, his wife and his sister-in-law, both of whom died with him in the crash of the private plane Kennedy piloted, included a front-page cover story, reaction quotes, a graphic of the pilot’s seat and a synopsis of Kennedy’s life and times.

In 2008, the news of actor Heath Ledger’s accidental death and newsman Tim Russert’s sudden death from a heart attack was splashed across newspaper front pages and magazine covers, as well as their Internet counterparts. Coverage was swift, immediate and intense on 24-hour cable and in blogs.

"Certainly, there are more places for this news," said Stephens. "And, to be fair, all these places have their own need for news, so there is a need for more and more information on the deceased."

Related link: Front Pages Archive

From Carrier Pigeons to Twitter: Timely News Still the Goal

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

In 1832, French journalist Charles Havas started Agence Havas, a news service in Paris that sold translations of foreign news to the city’s newspapers. Agence Havas was the first major private news agency in the world.

Getting the news to readers in a speedy manner was crucial to the agency’s success, so as early as 1835, Havas used carrier pigeons to transport stock prices.

Fast forward to 2009, when Iranian protesters are using Twitter — an online social-networking site that uses a bird as its unofficial icon — to send messages about the protests and police crackdowns to the rest of the world through their cell phones and the Internet. The Iranian government has restricted foreign journalists from reporting the events in Tehran.

The tweets, or "microblogs," as the messages are called, have been so vital to behind-the-scenes information in Tehran that the U.S. State Department asked Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance to allow the messages to continue. This request has users cooing over the technology and is considered a milestone in the rapidly evolving world of instant communication.

Twitter, which was founded in 2007, grew from its founder’s simple idea of wanting to know what his friends were doing. Two years and more than a billion tweets later, subscribers are doing just that — and more — in 140 characters or less.

In May 2008, one of the first reports about the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province was a Twitter message, which beat a Bloomberg News wire flash by 23 seconds. Six months later in November, eyewitnesses posted thousands of Twitter updates about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

Twitter’s site on June 17 carried up-to-the-minute messages about the protests in Iran.

One user posted live from Iran: "More than 100,000 people at Tehran protest. ‘We students do not chant death to America we want the American constitution.’"

Another user said, "After watching Twitter essentially save democracy in Iran, Mafoo is re-evaluating his Twitter apathy."

The story of Twitter is told in the Newseum’s Digital News Gallery. The story of Agence Havas and other news agencies can be found in the News Corporation News History Gallery. Follow the Newseum on Twitter.

12-Year Sentence for U.S. Journalists in North Korea

By Patty Rhule, Newseum project editor

Two American journalists held in North Korea since March 17 were sentenced June 8 to 12 years each in a labor camp.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for San Francisco-based Current TV, were pursuing a story about refugees fleeing North Korea when they were arrested near the border with China. They were convicted of "grave crimes" and entering North Korea illegally, though some reports said they were arrested in China.

The sentence was the latest provocative move by North Korea, which in the past two months has launched a long-range missile, tested an underground nuclear bomb and rejected the agreement that ended the Korean War.

The White House expressed deep concern about the sentencing. "We are engaged through all possible channels" to secure their release, said White House spokesman Bill Burton.

North Korea is in the midst of a leadership change as leader Kim Jong Il is believed to be ailing.

The five-day trial was held in North Korea’s highest court in the capital of Pyongyang — an indication that no appeal is permitted. Outsiders were barred from attending.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called the sentences "deplorable."

"We call on all parties to the Six Party talks — North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States — to work together for their release," said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.

Last week, Lisa Ling, a journalist who is the sister of prisoner Laura Ling, reached out to the North Korean government.

"If at any point the girls went into North Korea, then we apologize on their behalf," Ling said.

The jailed women have spoken with their families. Ling said her sister was "very scared," though both women said they had been treated "fairly."

Have a Camel, Cup of Joe

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

In 1949, in what was one of the earliest collaborations between a national TV news program and an advertiser, John Cameron Swayze — NBC’s first television newscaster — hosted the "Camel News Caravan" while smoking Camel cigarettes on the air.

Back then, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s corporate sponsorship of the 15-minute program required Swayze to have one of the company’s Camel brand cigarettes lit whenever he was broadcasting. The program opened with an invitation to viewers to "Sit back, light up a Camel and be an eyewitness to the happenings that made history in the last 24 hours."

When R.J. Reynolds pared its weekly sponsorship of the program from five days a week to three in 1955, Chrysler, maker of Plymouth automobiles, sponsored the rest of the week and changed the program’s name to the "Plymouth News Caravan" on those two days.

At CBS, news icon Walter Cronkite had a brief and unsuccessful on-air fling hawking Winston cigarettes, another R.J. Reynolds product.

When "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" replaced the Camel and Plymouth news programs in 1956, Swayze left NBC for a brief stint at ABC, before becoming a successful TV commercial spokesperson for Timex watches. Individual company sponsorships of news programs became a thing of the past when news divisions became sensitive to conflict-of-interest perceptions and the effect that sponsors would have on their objectivity.

What a difference 60 years make.

In 2009, in what is hailed a "natural fit" by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, another NBC news entity — MSNBC’s weekday talk show "Morning Joe" — is now wedded to an advertiser, in this case, the ubiquitous coffee chain. Promotional ads declare that the three-hour program, hosted by Joe Scarborough with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, is "brewed by Starbucks."

Long before the deal was officially inked, Scarborough, the "Joe" in "Morning Joe," openly drank Starbucks Frappuccinos on camera. MSNBC’s president Phil Griffin said the cable program’s sponsorship would not compromise its news judgment.

Doughnuts, anyone?

The story of Swayze and the "Camel News Caravan" is told in the Newseum’s Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery and the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Obama's Puppy Popular With Newseum Visitors

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

WASHINGTON — Bo Obama has been in the White House for just six weeks, but Newseum visitors already consider the cute Portuguese water dog to be America’s "top first dog."

More than 9,100 votes have been cast in the museum’s just-for-kicks popularity poll, which pits the current and former presidential dogs against one another.

In addition to Bo, Bill Clinton’s Labrador retriever, Buddy; George H.W. Bush’s English Springer spaniel, Millie; Richard Nixon’s cocker spaniel, Checkers; Lyndon B. Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her; and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, are vying for the title of "top first dog" in the special election.

One month into the poll, Bo is leading the pack with 35 percent of the votes. Fala, who once starred in a Hollywood movie, is running second with 23 percent.

The election is part of the popular exhibit, "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets," which features photographs of nearly two dozen U.S. presidents and their furry friends. "First Dogs" is now on view in the museum’s Special Exhibits area on Level 4.

"First Dogs" is supported by a gift to the Newseum from PEDIGREE®, a brand of Mars, Inc.

Tiananmen Square Uprising: Technology Kept News Flowing

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Twenty years ago this week, the world was riveted by startling images coming out of the People’s Republic of China: tens of thousands of students protesting for freedom and democracy in Beijng’s Tiananmen Square.

With them stood a 40-foot-tall statue — called the Goddess of Democracy — created out of foam and papier-mâché by students of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and modeled after the Statue of Liberty. The protests, sparked by the death in April of a pro-reform state official, had escalated from mourning observances into a seven-week movement that prompted martial law and left several hundred protesters dead.

The international media, initially in Beijing to cover the state visit in May of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, found themselves thrust into demonstrations and a government crackdown, which they covered live. They were there when the tanks rolled into the square and as a defiant protester boldly stood in front of them to halt their advance.

The Chinese government banned all foreign news coverage, shutting down satellite transmissions and detaining journalists who did not comply. Reporters got around the ban by reporting by mobile telephone. Students in China’s pro-democracy movement kept the news flowing by fax machines and electronic mail connections. Technology managed to open Chinese repressions to the world, despite government censorship and the removal of news correspondents.

The protests ended June 4 when army tanks cleared the square. The Goddess of Democracy was destroyed; a replica is currently displayed in the Newseum’s Time Warner World News Gallery. By the end of the year, the communist government in East Germany collapsed and with it, the Berlin Wall. Two years later, the world witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union.

A Newseum map that highlights press freedom around the world and is updated each year shows that the press in China, 20 years after the Tiananmen Square protests, is still not free.

Join us Sunday, June 7, in the Time Warner World News Gallery on Level 3 for Gallery Talks on Chinese media and government censorship. Gallery Talks are at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Related story: Online Censorship Poses Olympic Challenge for Journalists

'UP' Up and Away at the Newseum

Photo slideshow | Video

WASHINGTON — Visitors got an "UP"-lifting experience May 29 at the Newseum to celebrate the opening of Disney/Pixar’s new PG-rated animated movie "UP." Several lucky Newseum visitors got the chance to soar up to 50 feet in the New York Times–Ochs-Sulzberger Family Great Hall of News strapped in a balloon-powered easy chair.

WTTG Fox 5 anchor Holly Morris was the first reporter to ride in the chair. Click here for her report.

"UP" is the story of Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old balloon salesman who ties thousands of balloons to his house and takes off on an adventure to South America with an 8-year-old accidental stowaway. Actor Ed Asner provides the voice of Fredricksen.

In 2008, Disney/Pixar’s star robot WALL*E thrilled visitors during an exclusive visit to the Newseum. Last February, the "WALL*E" movie won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

'UP' Up and Away at the Newseum

Photo slideshow | Video

WASHINGTON — Visitors got an "UP"-lifting experience May 29 at the Newseum to celebrate the opening of Disney/Pixar’s new PG-rated animated movie "UP." Several lucky Newseum visitors got the chance to soar up to 50 feet in the New York Times–Ochs-Sulzberger Family Great Hall of News strapped in a balloon-powered easy chair.

'Our World at War' Exhibit Opens June 5 at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — A new exhibit featuring the work of five award-winning photojournalists in eight war-torn and ravaged countries will be on display at the Newseum June 5 through Sept. 7, 2009.

"Our World at War: Photojournalism Beyond the Front Lines," includes 40 photos taken in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia and the Philippines. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent the photographers to those countries to document how war and armed violence have affected people’s lives.

The photographers whose work is exhibited are:

• • Ron Haviv, who has used his photography to expose human rights violations in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the Balkans. He has documented wars in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has published two acclaimed books of photos: "Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal" and "Afghanistan: One the Road to Kabul."
• • Antonin Kratochvil, whose perspective as a former child refugee in his native Czechoslovakia is reflected in his images. He has photographed street children in Mongolia, covered the war in Iraq and produced a photo study of clashes between the Department of Homeland Security and American civil liberties in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
• • Christopher Morris, who has spent much of the past 20 years focused on war, having documented more than 18 foreign conflicts, including the U.S. invasions of Panama and Iraq, the Persian Gulf War, the drug war in Colombia and the wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia and Yugoslavia. Most recently, he documented the presidency of George W. Bush for Time magazine.
• • James Nachtwey, who has documented wars, conflicts and critical social issues since his first foreign assignment covering civil strife in Northern Ireland in 1981. Since then, Nachtwey has covered war and upheaval in Afghanistan, Bosnia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, the Philippines, Rwanda, Somalia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and the United States.
• • Franco Pagetti, who is drawn to the way conflict shows society and people at their best and worst. He has covered crises in Afghanistan, Kosovo, East Timor, Kashmir, Palestine, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. He began covering the conflict in Iraq in January 2003, three months before the war began. Since then, he has been based primarily in Baghdad, mainly on assignment for Time magazine.

"Whatever else one might see or feel when looking at a picture of human suffering — outrage, sadness, disbelief — what I think is essential to take away from such an image is a sense of compassion," said Nachtwey, who traveled to Afghanistan and the Philippines for the project.

The exhibit, created by the ICRC and VII Photo Agency, is part of a global campaign to raise awareness of humanitarian challenges and to mark the 150th anniversary of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Plan your visit and buy your tickets now. Admission is free for annual members.

Newseum Goes Behind the Scenes of "The War Room"

WASHINGTON — George Stephanopoulos, along with former Clinton advisers Dee Dee Myers and Paul Begala, joined host Nick Clooney for a screening of "The War Room" in the first installment of the "Reel Journalism" spring film series on Monday, May 18, 2009. The 1993 documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at then-Gov. Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and how he, and his new breed of political advisers and strategists, defeated Bush.

Related link: Watch video highlights

Astronaut Cernan Moon Walks Audience Through Apollo 10 Anniversary

WASHINGTON — At a special Newseum program May 18 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission, astronaut Gene Cernan shared with a packed audience his experience on that crucial flight. Veteran journalist and distinguished journalist-in-residence Nick Clooney moderated the event.

Cernan, who piloted the lunar module named Snoopy, was the second American to walk in space and the last person to walk on the moon in 1972.

Though the Apollo 10 mission did not include an actual moon landing, Cernan, along with commander Thomas P. Stafford and command module pilot John W. Young, carried out the actual maneuvers that the Apollo 11 crew would perform on their historic moon landing two months later.

Apollo 10’s journey to the moon and back to Earth took 192 hours, 3 minutes and 23 seconds. It was the first mission to use live color TV transmissions; the first mission to travel with a fully configured spacecraft; and the first mission of an "all-experienced" crew of NASA veterans.

U.S. Journalist Freed from Iranian Prison

By Patty Rhule, Newseum projects editor

Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who had been jailed in Iran for three months, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison May 11.

Saberi had been jailed since Jan. 31, initially for buying alcohol and then on charges of spying for the United States. She was sentenced to eight years in prison in April and recently held a two-week hunger strike in protest. On May 10, the charges and her sentence were reduced on appeal.

Saberi and her family were expected to return to the United States after her release. Born in the United States, Saberi moved to Iran six years ago, where she was a freelance reporter for National Public Radio and the BBC. In 2006, she began work on a book about Iran, her father said.

As Saberi returned to freedom, in North Korea, two U.S. journalists are in jail and face trial on June 4.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, working for San Francisco-based Current TV, were arrested near the Chinese border by North Korean authorities March 17. The women will be tried in North Korea's highest court, the Central Court, an indication of the serious nature of the case.

A statement released from the state-run Korean Central News Agency did not detail the charges they face, but previously, they were accused of entering North Korea illegally and being hostile to the state. Those charges could mean up to 10 years in prison. Ling and Lee were working on a story about North Koreans fleeing their country.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, while celebrating news of Saberi’s release, notes that an estimated 125 journalists remain jailed around the world.

Newspapers in Peril? Hold the Obituaries

By Gene Policinski, vice president, executive director, First Amendment Center

Newspapers are down, but not out. In some fashion, size and format they, and the journalism they practice, are likely to be around for a long time.

There’s no question that the newspaper industry, as this nation has known it for more than 100 years, is undergoing wrenching change. Big media companies and their stockholders have seen share value plunge to mere pennies. Big-city newspapers have closed and hundreds of others, big and small, have made deep staff cuts. Editions have fewer pages — in some places, there are fewer weekly editions. First Amendment advocates worry about a diminishing ability to serve as a "watchdog on government."

But all of this is a long way from justifying an obituary notice right now for newspapers as an industry — or, as some have suggested, to fear for the very existence of a free press in America.

• • First, as to whether "newsprint" editions are doomed to die out, the news for some isn’t good. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Denver’s Rocky Mountain News have shut down; the Boston Globe needed huge union concessions to avert a threatened closing and other major dailies are considering filing, or have filed, for bankruptcy protection. Still, the "PI" and "The Rocky" were part — and the weaker part, at that — of a Joint Operating Agreement with the economically stronger newspaper in town. It’s not quite accurate to characterize the ending of life-support measures for those two patients as representative of what’s ailing an entire industry.
• • Second, many newspapers remain profitable but face cutbacks and staff reductions because at current income vs. cost levels, those papers are not making enough money to satisfy local investors or national stockholders.
• • Third, some of the harshest critics say the financial crisis for many newspaper groups is due in large part to big debts, run-up acquisitions made worse by the nation’s recession, and bad planning or lack of foresight in stemming ad and readership losses to Web-based competitors. As we’re seeing in the banking, automobile and mortgage industries, those who took the riskiest risks in pursuit of the biggest profits may not survive. But the more financially-conservative brethren may.
• • Finally, others point to the relative economic health of locally owned or small-group newspapers that exist in communities where there is as yet no Internet competitor and where the newspaper remains a source for classified advertising and readers that advertisers want to reach.

Newspapers will change. Their look, size, frequency and subject matter will evolve in response to the reach and content of online news and information sources. In its simplest form, this may mean no more baseball stats, Wall Street stocks and TV or movie listings on a printed page.

But for years to come — even as Web sites and bloggers mature and develop reputations for credibility and move beyond opinion into news and investigative operations — newspapers, perhaps in partnership with bloggers, broadcasters, and others in their communities, will remain required reading for stories and commentary prepared and presented by trusted, authoritative professionals. We may even keep the "news" and lose the "paper" part — as devices such as the latest Kindle "electronic book" provide the look and page-style format of a newspaper, but present it via an online mechanism.

One of the ironies of the Web is that as more information is presented online, it becomes more difficult for individuals to aggregate it in a meaningful way.

I have no quarrel with those who say the newspaper of today won’t be here tomorrow. I just resist the idea that tomorrow necessarily will come without some kind of newspaper.

Gene Policinski is a former managing editor at USA Today. His and other columns on First Amendment issues can be found at firstamendmentcenter.org.

Related story: Newspapers in Peril? This Time, It’s Different
Related video: Digital Newspapers: The New Reality

Newspapers in Peril? This Time, It’s Different

By W. Joseph Campbell, associate professor, American University

In June 1897, near the end of a staggering economic downturn, the Journalist trade publication offered pithy advice for reporters and editors in New York City which, then as now, was the nerve center of American journalism.

The recession of the mid-1890s battered metropolitan journalism, especially in New York. Layoffs swept the city’s newsrooms. Newspapers in 1897 speculated which of their rivals might have to fold. High on the critical list was The New York Times, which had been acquired just months before by Adolph Ochs.

Against the tableau of gloom of that long ago summer, the Journalist advised: "Go anywhere, but leave New York. It is today the poorest field for anything but the highest talents, and these are often crowded into insignificance."

To be sure, American newspapers have endured tough times before, and survived and prospered. Grim predictions of their demise, stimulated by hard economic times, proved illusory.

But this time, it’s different. Newspapers as vigorous and conspicuous forces in the American media landscape may not survive this economic storm. There are at least four powerful reasons why they may be doomed.

• • One, the long-established business model, in which newspapers were a convenient and effective means of bringing together buyers and sellers through advertising, is fractured beyond repair. For years, advertising has been deserting the press for the Internet, where bringing together buyers and sellers is cheaper and far more efficient.
• • Two, the Internet has unbundled media content. One need not buy a newspaper just for sports news. Or international news. Or stock tables. It’s all online, in discrete packages and in unmatched variety. News à la carte has proven irresistible.
• • Three, greater numbers of Americans are finding the news irrelevant. Almost 20 percent of adult Americans go without news during a typical day, according to the Pew Research Center’s biennial media-use survey in 2008. Ten years earlier, the percentage of American adults who went newsless was 14 percent. Among adults 18-to-24-years-old these days, 34 percent say they go newsless. A declining constituency for news offers no encouragement for newspapers.
• • Four, newspapers have been complicit in their decline. Their credibility — the notion they play it straight in reporting the news — is deeply doubted. Slightly more than 20 percent of adult Americans believe all or most of what they read in their local newspaper, Pew data say. For The New York Times, the believability quotient is 18 percent. It’s 16 percent for USA Today.

On top of all that, the worst recession in years has made it nearly impossible for prominent newspaper companies, such as Chicago-based Tribune Co., to dig out from staggering loads of debt.

Sadly, it is different this time. The predicament facing American newspapers is as bleak as it is unprecedented.

W. Joseph Campbell, a former Newseum scholar, is a journalism historian who teaches at American University in Washington. He is the author of four books, including The Year That Defined American Journalism: 1897 and the Clash of Paradigms (2006) and Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies (2001).

Related story: Newspapers in Peril? Hold the Obituaries
Related video: Digital Newspapers: The New Reality

Newspapers in Peril?

Sagging subscriptions, shrinking circulation and dwindling advertising are the triple threats to the survival of the nation’s dailies. And the power and pull of the Internet are causing many newspapers to flail, fail or fold. But are newspapers dying, or is it premature and unreasonable to sound the death knell? Two journalism scholars offer their views.

This Time, It’s Different
By W. Joseph Campbell, associate professor, American University

Hold the Obituaries
By Gene Policinski, vice president, executive director, First Amendment Center

Related video: Digital Newspapers: The New Reality

'FOTOBAMA' Opens at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — A new exhibit showcasing the top 100 winners and finalists in the 2009 FOTOBAMA international photography contest opens May 7, 2009, at the Newseum.

"FOTOBAMA: Picturing the President" features images from the historic campaign, election and inauguration of Barack Obama. With a wide array of perspectives, the exhibit chronicles the campaign that captivated Americans and led them to embrace the country’s first black president.

Obama can be seen body-surfing during a campaign break in Hawaii, shedding a tear for his late grandmother at a campaign rally and embracing his wife, Michelle, after the election night victory. Images from inauguration week depict not only official events, but also the outpouring of emotion from the millions who came to the nation’s capital to witness the beginning of a historic presidency.

Amateur and professional photographers were invited to submit photographs to the FOTOBAMA competition, which received more than 1,500 entries. A panel of noted photojournalists and photo editors selected 25 finalists in each of four categories. First and second place were awarded in each group. "Best in Show" went to Associated Press photographer Chris Carlson for his image of Obama being swamped by supporters after clinching the Democratic nomination. For other contest winners, visit FotoWeek DC.

FOTOBAMA is sponsored by the Newseum and FotoWeek DC, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting photography. The exhibit will be on display on Level 6 until Sept. 7, 2009.

Related Link:
• 'FOTOBAMA' Winners Announced

FOTOBAMA Winners Announced

WASHINGTON — On the 100th day of President Barack Obama’s administration, the Newseum and FotoWeek DC unveiled the winners of the 2009 FOTOBAMA international photography contest. Prizes were awarded to the top two photographs in each of four categories, selected from more than 1,500 images entered in the contest by both amateur and professional photographers. "Best in Show" went to Associated Press photographer Chris Carlson for his image of Obama being swamped by supporters after clinching the Democratic nomination.

FOTOBAMA celebrates the historic election of the nation’s first black president. The contest is sponsored by the Newseum and FotoWeek DC, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting photography. The top 100 photographs from the contest will be displayed in the Newseum exhibit "FOTOBAMA: Picturing the President," which opens May 7, 2009.

The winning photographs and photographers:

Presidential Campaign and Election — Professional

First Place and Best in Show
Supporting Hands
Chris Carlson, The Associated Press

Second Place
Whistling While He Waits
Jae C. Hong, The Associated Press

Presidential Campaign and Election — Amateur

First Place
Crowd-Surfing to Victory
Tucker Walsh

Second Place
Trading Places
Val Proudkii

Inauguration Week — Professional

First Place
End of Anonymity
Aude Guerrucci, Polaris

Second Place
Witness
David S. Holloway, Reportage by Getty Images

Inauguration Week — Amateur

First Place
Walking the Walk
Charlie Parker

Second Place
Inauguration 2009
Graeme Jennings

A Tree Grows on Campus

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

In 1765, near historic Boston Common, a 119-year-old elm tree became a gathering site for early American patriots who increasingly voiced the need for a new nation founded on liberty. The Liberty Tree, as the elm was called, was a rallying point for dissent against British rule and symbolized freedom and unity in the American colonies.

In 2009, the Liberty Tree Initiative honors that tradition by building awareness of the First Amendment’s five freedoms through events and speakers at colleges across the country. The program, which includes a coalition of journalists, educators and other First Amendment supporters, was founded in partnership with the American Society of News Editors, with help and support from the McCormick Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the First Amendment Center, an affiliate of the Newseum.

The 2009 Liberty Tree Initiative program began this week at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. The college has declared April 23 to 30 Liberty Tree Week and is featuring a wide range of programming, including music, lectures and an exhibit of banned books.

Among the events are an evening of banned music, a presentation on the Gutenberg Bible by master bookbinder Tim Yancey and a discussion about religious expression and freedom of information led by Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center.

"We’re very honored to have been granted the first Liberty Tree grant of 2009," said Brian Carroll, associate professor of journalism at Berry College. "I feel like we’ve been given $5,000 to show the First Amendment a really good time here at Berry, and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do.

"We also hope to increase awareness and appreciation of the First Amendment here on campus and in our community, and to do it in ways that engage and even entertain."

Ken Paulson, president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum, Newseum and Diversity Institute, was one of the driving forces behind the Liberty Tree Initiative through his affiliations with ASNE and the First Amendment Center.

"The Liberty Tree Initiative is a remarkable partnership that taps into the energy of the First Amendment and the insights of experts, academic leaders, artists, musicians and journalists across this country," Paulson said.

Paulson will deliver the keynote address, "Rebooting America: The First Amendment and a New Generation," at Berry College at the conclusion of Liberty Tree Week.

Funding for additional Liberty Tree Campus Initiative grants is available. For information, contact Sandra Chance at schance@jou.ufl.edu or 352/392-2273.

Related Links:
• American Society of News Editors
• McCormick Foundation
• Knight Foundation
• First Amendment Center

Jailed Journalists: Three Americans Imprisoned Abroad

By Patty Rhule, Newseum projects editor

Three American journalists are in jail in Iran and North Korea as United Nations World Press Freedom Day arrives May 3.

Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist who had reported for National Public Radio and the BBC, was arrested in January and sentenced April 18 to eight years in jail. The charge: spying for the United States. Saberi was born in the United States and moved to Iran six years ago, where she was a freelance reporter. In 2006, she began work on a book about Iran, her father said.

Iranian dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi will defend Saberi in her appeal. President Barack Obama, as well as press and human rights groups, has called for Saberi’s release.

In North Korea, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, working for San Francisco-based Current TV, were arrested March 17 on the Chinese border by North Korean authorities. The women were accused of entering North Korea illegally and being hostile to the state. Ling and Lee were working on a story about North Koreans escaping their country.

The three Americans are among an estimated 125 journalists who are in jail around the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Newseum's No. 1 Fan

When the Newseum first opened its doors on Pennsylvania Avenue April 11, 2008, Mark Pierzchala was the first visitor to walk through them. Since then, Pierzchala — whose door prize included a free annual Press Pass membership — has logged hundreds of frequent visitor hours. The Montgomery County, Md., resident has visited the Newseum every Friday since its grand opening. Hear what the museum’s No. 1 fan has to say about the news media and his favorite exhibits and galleries.

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First Dogs: Presidential Pets in the White House

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

WASHINGTON — If you want a friend in Washington, the old saying goes, get a dog. Since the days of George Washington, most U.S. presidents have.

Hundreds of pets have lived at the White House, including parrots, goats, raccoons and cats. But dogs top the list as the favorite presidential pet.

The Newseum’s popular exhibit "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets," showcases some of the top dogs who have resided at the nation’s most prestigious address. On display are images of dogs belonging to 23 presidents, including the newest addition: Bo, a six-month-old Portuguese water dog — a gift to the Obamas from Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, had his own press secretary. Warren G. Harding’s Airedale, Laddie Boy, had his own chair at Cabinet meetings. A book "written" by George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel, Millie, sold more copies than Bush’s own book.

Some highlights of other presidents and their pets include:

• • Abraham Lincoln’s dog Fido was the first presidential pet to be photographed, but it wasn’t a happy occasion. Lincoln was leaving Fido, a mongrel, in Illinois and wanted a memento for his sons before setting out for his 1861 inauguration in Washington.
  
  
• • Calvin and Grace Coolidge maintained a menagerie during his 1920s presidency, including 12 dogs and a pair of raccoons. On display is a photograph of their white collie Prudence Prim showing off her Easter bonnet for Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon.
  
  
• • Herbert Hoover won fans, and possibly his 1928 election, by posing with his police dog, King Tut, for campaign photos. He and his wife, Lou, kept nine dogs at the White House, including their Norwegian elkhound, Weegie.
  
  
• • John F. Kennedy was allergic to dogs. Even so, the Kennedys had nine, including Clipper, Charlie, Wolf, Shannon and the mixed breed Pushinka, a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
  
  
• • In April 1964, dog lovers protested after seeing front-page photos of Lyndon B. Johnson lifting his beagles, Him and Her, by the ears. Insisting to reporters that the dogs didn’t mind, Johnson demonstrated the move again days later.
  
  
• • Forced to account for $18,000 in questionable gifts during the 1952 election, Republican vice presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon insisted to a television audience that the only gift he received was for his children — a cocker spaniel named Checkers. He won voters’ sympathies when he explained, "The kids love the dog … and we’re going to keep it."
  
  
• • Gerald R. Ford’s photographer, David Hume Kennerly, was looking for a golden retriever for his boss in 1974 but didn’t want to reveal who the owner would be. "Do they own or rent?" the breeder asked. "I guess you could say they live in public housing," Kennerly deadpanned. Ford named the dog Liberty.
  
  
• • George W. Bush joked that his Scottish terrier, Barney, was the son he never had. Bush’s "Barney Cam" videos, showing life at the White House from the dog’s view, were an Internet sensation. Barney made news again in November 2008 when he bit a reporter who tried to pet him.

During a recent poll asking Newseum visitors which kind of dog they thought the Obamas should choose, 40,000 votes were cast; more than 20,000 selected a shelter dog over five breeds recommended by the American Kennel Club. President Obama also had expressed a preference for a shelter dog, but the family needed a hypoallergenic dog because of daughter Malia’s allergies. When the Obamas introduced Bo on April 11, they announced that they would make a donation to the Washington Humane Society.

A new poll in the exhibit asks visitors to vote for their favorite presidential pet of all time.

"First Dogs" is supported by a gift to the Newseum from PEDIGREE®, a brand of Mars, Inc.

From Marshall McLuhan to Susan Boyle

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Ten days ago, Susan Boyle was a household name only to neighbors in her small village of Blackburn, Scotland. Today, thanks to the power of the Internet and the World Wide Web, Boyle is an overnight sensation, a rising star in the global village.

For those who somehow missed Boyle’s fairy-tale story, she’s the unemployed, middle-aged, never-married singer who stunned cynical talent-show judges and a jeering crowd with her beautiful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Misérables."

At last count, her performance in a seven-minute video has logged more than 30 million views on YouTube. Factor in the other Boyle-related videos that have been Twittered, bookmarked, shared on MySpace, Facebook, cell phones and other social networks and devices, and the views jump to an unprecedented 85 million — and counting.

As media theorist Marshall McLuhan would say, the medium is indeed the message.

When McLuhan coined that phrase, as well as "global village," in the 1960s, he was referring to the inevitable power of the electronic media and most notably, the cultural impact of television. Back then, it took nearly two months for a mop-haired group called the Beatles to become a TV sensation in the United States. Today, Boyle already has an entry in Wikipedia.

Nearly 45 years after McLuhan’s observation, the convergence of television, the Internet, the Web, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and Google have helped turn Boyle into an instant international media star, and for now, the most famous villager on the planet.

Learn more about the history of the Internet and changing technology in the Newseum’s Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery.

Pulitzers Honor Best in Journalism

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

The best in journalism was honored April 20, 2009, at Columbia University with the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s highest honor.

Awards were given in 21 categories, including 14 journalism categories. The public service award — which comes with a prestigious gold medal — is given to a news organization. All other winners receive $10,000 each.

This year, the Pulitzer Prize for public service was awarded to the Las Vegas Sun for its story on the exposure of the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip.

For the first time in the history of the Pulitzer Prizes, online-only newspapers and news organizations were eligible to submit entries in all 14 categories, although none claimed the accolade.

The award for breaking news photography went to Patrick Farrell of The Miami Herald for his images of the devastation in Haiti after Hurricane Ike and other storms. Damon Winter of The New York Times won the award for feature photography for his pictures of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

These images will be added to the Newseum’s permanent and traveling exhibits of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. The exhibit catalog, "The Pulitzer Prize Photographs: Capture the Moment," showcases the prize-winning photographs and reveals the stories behind them. View the Newseum’s Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery.

Since 1917, Columbia University has recognized remarkable achievements in journalism, arts and letters, thanks to a bequest from crusading publisher Joseph Pulitzer. In his will, he endowed the university with $2 million for a school of journalism and "prizes or scholarships for the encouragement of public service, public morals, American literature and the advancement of education."

For a complete list of 2009 winners, visit www.pulitzer.org. A Newseum exhibit on the winners will be displayed in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Newseum Recognizes Banned Books

By Lesette R. Heath, special programs coordinator

WASHINGTON — At the Banned Books Nook during the Newseum’s April 11 anniversary celebration, visitors of all ages were shocked to see many of their literary favorites on the list of books being challenged or banned:

• • "Charlotte’s Web," by E.B. White.
• • "Where The Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak.
• • "Little House on the Prairie," by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• • "Harriet the Spy," by Louise Fitzhugh.
• • "Are You There, God, It’s Me, Margaret," by Judy Blume.
• • "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry," by Mildred B. Taylor.

The reasons for the bans are countless.

"Charlotte’s Web," the story of a pig that befriends a remarkably talented spider, was challenged for its "unnatural" depiction of talking animals.

"Harriet the Spy," the story about a young girl so determined to become a famous writer that she writes down everything she sees, was challenged because it allegedly teaches children to lie, spy on others, curse and talk back to adults.

Opponents of "Where the Wild Things Are," winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year, argued that it contained disturbing elements, such as the supernatural and witchcraft.

In fact, several children’s books — including Tomie dePaola’s "Strega Nona" and J.K. Rowling’s best-selling "Harry Potter" series — have been banned or challenged for depicting witchcraft.

The tradition of banning books dates back to the 1550s, when Pope Paul IV created the Index Librorium Prohibitorium (List of Prohibited Books) to protect Roman Catholics from reading immoral material.

In modern times, school and public libraries often deal with complaints — usually from parents — asking that books be removed from shelves. Coming-of-age novels, loaded with their share of teenage angst, have not escaped criticism.

"Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret" was challenged for its candid discussions about sex and use of profanity. The acclaimed "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" has attracted frequent critics for its alleged racist material and offensive language.

"We created this activity in hopes of opening dialogue between parents and children on the topic of book banning," said Barbara McCormack, Newseum senior education manager. "The books children read should be a decision made by the family, not others."

She added, "Book banning impacts all generations’ First Amendment rights and above all else, their freedom to read."

Book censorship and other First Amendment issues are discussed in the Newseum’s Cox Enterprises First Amendment Gallery.

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The First Dog Debuts

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

After months of dogged reporting about what kind of puppy the new first family would bring to Washington, the, uh, cat is out of the bag.

Bo, a Portuguese water dog, was unveiled April 11 by a hastily assembled Web site called FirstDogCharlie.com. The site posted the first known photograph of the black-and-white, curly-haired cutie, scooping The Washington Post, which apparently had been promised a doggy exclusive.

The Web site claimed the 6-month-old puppy’s original name was Charlie. Renamed Bo by the Obamas, the puppy did not come from a shelter, as many Newseum visitors had hoped. The pet was a gift from Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, an Obama backer and Portuguese water dog owner.

Of the more than 37,000 votes cast in the Newseum’s five-month presidential pooch poll, more than half said the Obamas should get a shelter dog. Kennedy reportedly rescued Bo from a home where he had been a bad fit. According to The Post, the first family also is making a donation to the local humane society.

Bo will join dozens of past presidential pooches in the Newseum’s exhibit "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets." The show — supported by a gift to the Newseum from PEDIGREE®, a brand of Mars, Inc. — features intimate photographs of presidents and their furry friends and is scheduled to end May 15, 2009.

Newseum's Birthday Celebration

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Record Crowd Celebrates Newseum's First

WASHINGTON — Nearly 6,000 people visited the Newseum April 11 to help celebrate the First Amendment and the museum’s first anniversary on historic Pennsylvania Avenue.

Thomas Jefferson was there. The popular News Hound was, too. A steady stream of visitors participated in an all-day celebration that included music, gifts and several hands-on activities. Since its grand opening in 2008, the 250,000-square-foot interactive museum of news has welcomed more than 700,000 visitors.

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New Artifacts on Display

Beginning April 11, three rare artifacts were added to the Newseum’s popular "Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln’s Killer" exhibit.

For Limited Display April 11-26:

• • A fragment from the dress worn by "Our American Cousin" lead actress Laura Keene that was stained with Lincoln’s blood.
• • A lock of Lincoln’s hair framed with dried flowers from his coffin.

April 11-Feb. 2010:

• • A rare bronze set of Lincoln life mask and hands, created by noted sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the 1880s directly from the 1860 plaster life mask and hands by Leonard Volk.

Return to "Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln's Killer"

Happy Birthday Newseum!

WASHINGTON — One year after its grand opening on April 11, 2008, the Newseum has quickly become one of the most sought-after destinations in the nation’s capital.

More than 700,000 people have visited the 250,000-square-foot museum since it opened on historic Pennsylvania Avenue. President Barack Obama is a repeat visitor. Actor George Clooney charmed a sold-out house. And on any given day at any given hour, the tweets are atwitter with celebrity sightings and special programs at the world’s most interactive museum of news:

• • “Obama at the Newseum!” — 1:30 p.m., Feb. 4, 2009.
  
• • “Val Kilmer is at the Newseum!” — 8:37 a.m., Feb. 13, 2009.
  
• • “Arnold Schwarzenegger will be at the Newseum Sunday a.m. to tape an interview for ABC News ‘This Week.’” — 10:48 a.m., Feb. 20, 2009.
  
• • “BET covering the State of the Union from Newseum Tuesday.” — 9:45 a.m., Feb. 23, 2009.
  
• • “Find out what ‘Rosebud’ really means in ‘Citizen Kane.’” — 12:46 p.m., Feb. 25, 2009.
  
• • “Conan O’Brien currently touring the Newseum!” — 8:36 a.m., March 3, 2009.

To celebrate our first anniversary, the Newseum looks back at some of the people, events and programs that helped make the first year a rousing success. 

'First Dogs' Poll

Visitors Pull for Shelter Dog

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

WASHINGTON — Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson both owned mutts, but will the next First Dog be as humble? If the choice were left to Newseum visitors, the answer would be yes. A shelter dog is winning the museum’s "Presidential Pooch" poll, paws-down.

Since voting began in mid-November 2008, 37,192 votes have been cast in the election — part of the Newseum exhibit "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets." On display until May 15, 2009, the exhibit features endearing photographs of nearly two dozen U.S. presidents with their furry friends, as well as the special canine election.

After Barack Obama promised his daughters a puppy during his victory speech in November, journalists seized on the story of the next First Dog. Newseum staffers decided to give visitors a say in the matter. According to the poll, they overwhelmingly prefer an adoption: The shelter dog has won 52 percent of the vote.

The election will continue until the new pet is in the White House. Please check back weekly for the latest tally.

Newspapers in Peril: What Would Jefferson Think?

By Gene Policinski, vice president, executive director, First Amendment Center

"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

When Thomas Jefferson made this observation in 1787, he made two assumptions.

One, that there would be newspapers. And two, that those papers would contain both a critical mass of information that citizens of a democracy would use in governing themselves, and serve as a check and balance on the power and reach of government itself.

More than two centuries later, both of Jefferson’s assumptions are being put to the test.

• • The economic model that supported the mass circulation newspaper industry more than 100 years is failing — or has failed, some say — for a variety of reasons.
• • As major news organizations cut back, retire or fire experienced and higher-salaried staff and pull back on coverage of institutions in favor of softer stories, there is reason to fear that the fabled "watchdog" role of the news media is endangered.

But if we’re going to put that Jeffersonian observation to a 21st century test, let’s also update the context.

A creative soul, Jefferson no doubt would have embraced the Internet and earlier, broadcast media. He would have valued the Web’s global information opportunities and its great potential to bring information and commentary directly to citizens.

As print media evolve — a more accurate evaluation than the oft-written death notices — we are seeing new methods of journalism gain traction: shared news coverage of local institutions among print, broadcast and Web news sources; split "publication days" during the week between print and online editions; and multimedia mixes that link bloggers and videographers to mainstream media.

Do the online news operations have the reach, depth or credibility of their older counterparts? The answer is, "not yet." From ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest; to the Huffington Post, a blog-turned-major news outlet; to online news aggregators like Google and Yahoo; to local bloggers and freelancers, we have access to as much information — if not more — than ever.

In Jefferson’s time, citizens got and evaluated news in a very personal way — as much from friends, colleagues and neighbors as from the "journals of opinion" that were the news publications of the era. In an ironic twist, from Twitter and blogs to Facebook and MySpace, we increasingly are returning to that same kind of personal, shared news experience.

A proposal by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., similar to the Newspaper Revitalization Act, would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Whether Cardin’s proposal is a good idea or not, the goal for Americans ought to be to preserve a free and independent media, whether the medium is newsprint or electrons. As our methods of gaining news and information move from the village green to the village screen, the enduring theme is the preeminent value to our democracy that Jefferson placed on journalism and a free press.

For information on other First Amendment issues, please visit www.firstamendmentcenter.org and the Newseum’s Cox Enterprises First Amendment Gallery.

Learning Made Fun

See why the Newseum’s 14 galleries, 15 theaters and dozens of displays and interactive spaces makes it the preferred learning ground for students and teachers.

For more information about learning opportunities at the Newseum, contact Barbara McCormack, senior education manager, at 202/292-6661 or bmccormack@newseum.org.

Newseum Education:
Field Trips | Learning Center | Teacher Resources | Student Resources | Special Offerings

NewsMania™

Calling all news junkies. Test your news IQ by playing the Newseum’s popular game show that’s as fresh as today’s headlines. Questions are based on current events, news, sports, entertainment and general knowledge. NewsMania™ is a bit like "Jeopardy!" and "It’s Academic" and twice the fun. More >

Newseum Education:
Field Trips | Learning Center | Teacher Resources | Student Resources | Special Offerings

Remembering Jack Heselden

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

John E. Heselden, a veteran news executive with Gannett Co. and an influential trustee and valued friend of the Freedom Forum, died April 1, 2009, in Towson, Md. He was 88.

Heselden, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., witnessed the evolution of the Freedom Forum over a span of 42 years from a small office in Rochester, N.Y., where it was the Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation, to the Washington, D.C.-based Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.

The Freedom Forum is the major funder of the operations of the Newseum, which will celebrate its first anniversary in the nation’s capital on April 11. Heselden would have turned 89 that day.

"Jack’s longtime commitment was underscored by his good instincts, clear analysis and the ability to offer a few well chosen words at just the right time," said Charles Overby, chairman and CEO of the Freedom Forum. "The staff loved Jack because he noticed the little things that made a difference, as well as the big things."

Heselden’s distinguished career began in Rochester in 1955 with Gannett Newspapers, where he was assistant to the general manager in labor and personnel work. During his 30 years with the organization, Heselden was promoted to a number of key executive positions, including publisher of USA Today and deputy chairman of Gannett, a position he held from 1983 until his retirement two years later.

In his 1987 book "The Making of McPaper," former USA Today editor and Newseum president Peter Prichard called Heselden "a friendly bear of a man who … had a sure instinct for what would help the bottom line. He would pick and prod at a publisher’s budget, saving a few dollars here, a few dollars there. He hit a few newspapers every afternoon, and pretty soon it added up to millions."

USA Today founder and former Gannett chairman Al Neuharth described Heselden as a "compromiser" during open debates who "was always ready to step in just before polarization peaked." In his 1989 autobiography "Confessions of an S.O.B.," Neuharth also noted Heselden’s "firm belief in equal-opportunity programs," which was reflected in Gannett’s commitment to hiring and promoting women and minorities throughout the company. That legacy lives on at the Freedom Forum, as well.

"He was not a household name because he shunned the spotlight, but he was a giant in the newspaper business," Overby said.

Heselden is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Ethel, and daughters Barbara and Nancy.

Newseum Honors 62 Journalists

WASHINGTON — Family and friends of 62 journalists who died in 2008 reporting the news gathered at the Newseum March 30 for a somber rededication ceremony of the Journalists Memorial.

Related Video: Watch clips of the rededication ceremony and panel discussion.

Online Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial:
Browse the names of journalists who have lost their lives on the job.

Destination: Newseum

Find out what makes the Newseum one of the most exciting attractions in the nation’s capital. With 15 theaters, 14 galleries, weekly programs and special events, you never know who you’ll bump into at the world’s most interactive museum.

A Starr Is Mourned

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Yikes! Art imitates life.

In a sign of the times, Brenda Starr, one of the most glamorous and adventurous fictional reporters since Clark Kent, will join the ranks of real and comic-strip journalists who have lost their jobs in the past year.

Starr, a reporter-turned-editor who has worked in her fictional newsroom since 1940, is the latest victim of the budget cuts that have hit news organizations both in the real world and on the comics page. Her furlough starts on March 28. Starr’s boss, B. Babbitt Bottomline, summed up the reason.

"I can’t afford to pay you anymore," he said.

Last October, Doonesbury’s Rick Redfern, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, was offered the paper’s "best buyout package" after 33 years on the job. Redfern is now a blogger.

Years ago, when Starr and Redfern were novice reporters, jobs in comic-strip newsrooms lasted practically a lifetime. But with real daily newspapers rapidly dying and many going digital, job security — even in the comics — has become a thing of the past.

"Brenda Starr" was created 69 years ago by Dale Messick, who is believed to be the first American woman to draw a syndicated comic strip. After Messick retired in 1980, the comic strip was written by a series of women, including Ramona Fradon, Linda Sutter and June Brigman. The syndicated comic strip is currently penned by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, whose own company, the Tribune Co., filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

What’s next for the redheaded Starr? Will she start a blog like Redfern or spend more time with daughter Starr Twinkle St. John? The world waits.

In the meantime, read about Starr and the history of other comic-strip characters in the Newseum’s permanent exhibit "The Funny Pages."

The Real News in Fake News

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

What’s wrong with this picture?

CNBC financial analyst Jim Cramer being grilled for nearly 20 minutes — Mike Wallace–style — on a fake news show by a popular comedian commonly known — Walter Cronkite–style — as "the most trusted man in fake news."

Cramer’s widely anticipated March 12 faceoff with Jon Stewart on Stewart’s popular "Daily Show" was promoted like a boxing match. And if morning-after punditry and the number of hits on "The Daily Show" Web site were any indication, Stewart was the clear winner.

With this exchange, the fine line between news and entertainment became much thinner and a bit more blurry in this high-definition, digital-news world. Stewart’s stinging criticism of the "snake oil" peddled by Cramer and his financial network has transformed Stewart into a national ombudsman with a jabbing punch line that rarely misses its mark.

The last "newsman" to have that much clout was a real one — CBS News’s Cronkite. From 1963 until he retired in 1981, "Uncle Walter" was considered by his loyal viewers to be "the most trusted man in America." When he ended each broadcast with "And that’s the way it is" — his signature sign-off — Americans believed they had been given the true facts.

When Cronkite visited South Vietnam in February 1968 and, in a rare broadcast editorial after he returned, said that the United States could not win the war, even President Lyndon B. Johnson took notice.

"If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America," said Johnson, who later announced he would not seek re-election.

Stewart has been in this ring before. In October 2004 during a guest appearance on CNN’s "Crossfire," he called the political talk show’s format "partisan hackery." In the fallout that followed, the show was canceled a year later. CNN president Jonathan Klein agreed with Stewart’s criticism.

"I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day," Klein said.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, 12 percent of viewers ages 18 to 29 said they regularly got their campaign news from comedy TV shows such as Stewart’s. The week of the Cramer exchange, Stewart’s "Daily Show" audience was 2.3 million.

With Stewart’s growing influence, the reality for journalists caught in his crossfire could well be, "If I’m mocked by Stewart, I’ve lost my credibility."

And that, as Cronkite would say, is the way it is.

An exhibit on the impact of entertainment news on mainstream news and reporting is currently displayed in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery.

Remembering Leonore Annenberg

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Leonore Annenberg — philanthropist, widow of billionaire publisher and broadcaster Walter H. Annenberg and a founding partner of the Newseum — died March 12, 2009, in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She was 91.

Both Leonore and Walter Annenberg had distinguished careers in public service. He served as ambassador to Great Britain for five years, and she was chief of protocol for the White House under President Ronald Reagan.

For the past seven years, Leonore Annenberg was president and chairman of the Annenberg Foundation, which was established in 1989 to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As a principal means of achieving its goal, the foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge. The private foundation succeeded the Annenberg School at Radnor, Pa., which was founded in 1958 by Walter, who died in 2002.

For 26 years, Leonore Annenberg served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and was a tireless patron of the arts.

In 2007, the Annenberg Foundation donated $15 million to the Newseum, which named its 535-seat theater the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater.

"My husband, Walter, dedicated his life as a publisher, broadcaster, diplomat and philanthropist to communication, education and public service," Annenberg said of the donation. "The Newseum will provide an exciting new venue for visitors of all ages to learn about the rich history of the communication world and the importance of a free press in all societies."

Shelby Coffey, a Newseum trustee and Freedom Forum senior fellow, called Annenberg "a great lady and a great supporter of the Newseum."

According to Coffey, she called directly from California to express her support for the interactive museum, which opened in the nation’s capital in April 2008.

"She said [the Newseum] was just the sort of place the ambassador would have loved," Coffey said. "She was one of a kind and will be greatly missed."

From the Newseum Collection

Blogging Slippers

Ana Marie Cox was one of the first nationally known bloggers, serving as editor of the political blog "Wonkette" in 2004. "Wonkette" was a sometimes racy mix of Washington, D.C., gossip and policy issues that Cox, clad in pajamas and slippers, wrote from an office in her home. She relinquished her editorship in 2006.

When Newseum curators approached Cox about donating tools of the blogging trade, she suggested computer equipment. But our curators believed that bedroom slippers — or perhaps Cox’s pajamas — more readily highlighted the egalitarian realm of blogging. And what suggests commonality more than a pair of bedroom slippers?

Cox’s slippers are on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Event Archive:
"Wonkette" founder Ana Marie Cox discussed political blogging and Internet journalism at the Newseum on Sunday, March 22, 2009. More >

Going Digital: The Next Generation of News

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Related Video: Digital Newspapers: The New Reality

The list of names on the newspaper tombstone keeps growing as more and more dailies write their own obituaries and thousands of journalists lose their jobs.

The latest casualty: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The paper folds March 17, 2009, after 146 years. Primary cause of death: the Internet. Secondary causes: poor circulation and dwindling advertising.

Those same causes killed the 149-year-old  Rocky Mountain News  on Feb. 27, 2009, and the 126-year-old Cincinnati Post on Dec. 31, 2007. The Post's  "Farewell Edition" carried the headline "–30 –" which in newspaper parlance means "the last" or "the end."

Newspapers in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Tucson barely subsist on life support. Other publications, such as The Christian Science Monitor, The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., and U.S. News & World Report, have given up the struggle altogether and have gone strictly digital. The switch to all-digital for the Post-Intelligencer begins March 18, making it the largest daily in the country to print solely online. In April 2009, the Monitor will publish a print edition only on weekends. U.S. News will stay in print with a monthly magazine but will charge a weekly on-line fee.

Printed news has been dying a slow death for years as more Americans, according to a Pew Research Center survey, get their news on the Internet. The Internet can transmit news faster than any newspaper ever could, and, with the exception of a few publications, content is free. Since 1990, daily newspaper circulation has dropped nearly 20 percent, from 62.3 million to 51 million in 2007.

With news being delivered through cell phones, "smart phones" and portable electronic devices, door-to-door service may soon be a thing of the past. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press are cutting home delivery to just three days a week.

A new exhibit in the Newseum’s Digital News Gallery explores the next generation of news gathering and dissemination and what effect the changes may have on journalists and the news industry. A seven-minute video produced by the Newseum — "Digital Newspapers: The New Reality" — accompanies the exhibit.

The frequently updated Digital News Gallery, which is an integral part of the Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery, also features timely artifacts that explore the impact of digital technology on news.

Digital Newspapers: The New Reality

News printed on paper is giving way to news delivered digitally, wherever, whenever and however you want it.

Related Story: Going Digital: The Next Generation of News

First Amendment Gallery Showcases Free Speech

LL Cool J gives a shout out for freedom of speech and the Newseum’s First Amendment Gallery.

Get a Bird’s-Eye View in 'Press Box' Film

Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad is a fan of the Newseum’s film about sports reporting that shows daily in the Sports Theater.

Cherry Blossoms Announced for April

WASHINGTON — The peak blooming days in 2009 for Washington’s cherry blossoms will be April 3-9, according to Rob DeFeo, chief horticulturalist for the National Park Service.

DeFeo made the announcement March 3 at the Newseum. The blooming period typically lasts for 14 days. In 2008, the blooming period lasted for 17 days. Newseum visitors can report on the cherry blossoms in the popular "Be a TV Reporter" interactive.

First Amendment Challenge: Who Owns Obama’s Image?

By Gene Policinski, vice president, executive director, First Amendment Center

A legal dispute over a famed poster of then-senator Barack Obama goes to the heart of a very modern-era debate over what is "fair use" of images that are readily available on the Internet.

Artist Shepard Fairey developed a poster of Obama that was widely used during the 2008 presidential campaign that was based on what most agree was a photograph taken in 2006 by an Associated Press freelance photographer. Fairey said he found the image during a Google search.

Fairey and Obey Giant Art, Inc. — owned by the artist and his wife, Amanda — sued the AP earlier this month, asking a federal court to protect him from copyright claims being raised by the news organization. The dispute revolves around a complex part of copyright law called "fair use" and whether Fairey’s artistic work was "derivative" or "transformative."

If the artwork is deemed "derivative," a court might conclude that Fairey owes money to the AP (which asserts that it owns the photo) or to the freelancer. The argument: The photo, showing Obama with his head slightly tilted upward and looking out, is the exact angle and image in the freelancer’s photo. Sure, Fairey added colors and replaced the original Stars and Stripes flag background, but the image is essentially Obama as shown in the photo.

If the artwork is deemed "transformative," a court might conclude it falls under "fair use" and is protected under copyright law. The argument: The artwork goes far beyond the photo by means of artistic efforts — color, shading, etc. As such, it meets conditions of copyright exemption — that is, only a portion of the original image was used, and the poster and stickers that Fairey produced were used differently than the use of the original photo.

In some ways, the dispute echoes an issue raised in the 1960s by artistic works produced by pop-era artist Andy Warhol that were based on the iconic Campbell’s soup red-and-white can. No lawsuit was filed in that instance.

For information on other First Amendment issues, please visit www.firstamendmentcenter.org and the Newseum’s Cox Enterprises First Amendment Gallery.

Remembering Paul Harvey

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

Broadcasting legend Paul Harvey made his radio debut in Tulsa, Okla., in 1933, playing guitar, reading commercials and sometimes news. With a commanding voice, Harvey went on to inform and entertain generations of American listeners. Harvey died Feb. 28, 2009, at a Phoenix hospital. He was 90.

Known for his homespun phrasing, exuberant delivery and dramatic pauses, Harvey’s top-rated news, commentary and feature programs attracted a nationwide audience. He spent more than 50 years broadcasting on ABC Radio Networks, where his 15-minute morning and noon shows reached millions of listeners. Based in Chicago, he spent nearly his entire career in the Midwest, which he credited with keeping him grounded in populist views.

Radio executives considered him irreplaceable. In 2000, already in his 80s, Harvey signed a 10-year, $100 million contract.

Reuters summed up his appeal in a 1989 dispatch: "In a broadcast era dominated by television news, Harvey is a survivor from an age when a voice, not a haircut, was a newscaster’s signature."

Rocky Mountain News Stops the Presses

By John Maynard, Newseum Exhibits Writer

Just two months shy of its 150th anniversary, the Rocky Mountain News published its last edition on Feb. 27, 2009.

Colorado’s oldest newspaper, known by locals as simply "The Rocky," is the latest newspaper to fall victim to changes in the news marketplace and a struggling economy.

The Rocky’s final front-page headline read "Goodbye, Colorado."

The newspaper, owned by media company E.W. Scripps, lost $16 million last year and was put up for sale in December. Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, said that despite a three-month search, his company failed to find a buyer.

"Today the Rocky Mountain News, long the leading voice in Denver, becomes a victim of changing times in our industry and huge economic challenges," Boehne said in a statement.

Like other newspapers, the Rocky Mountain News saw circulation and advertising revenue drop in the wake of competition from the Internet.

Hearst announced recently that it is putting two of its papers, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, up for sale. Gannett said it will cease publication of the Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen in March if it cannot find a buyer.

The Denver Post, which becomes the city’s only major newspaper, will hire some reporters from the Rocky Mountain News, but more than 200 newsroom employees will lose their jobs.

The Rocky was first published in 1859 and was purchased by E.W. Scripps in 1926. In 2000, the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for coverage of the Columbine High School shootings. The newspaper won again in 2003 for breaking news photography for coverage of the Colarado wildfires. It picked up two more Pulitzers in 2006 for feature writing and feature photography -- both for a series on Colorado Marines who had fought and died in Iraq.

Those photos can be seen in the Newseum’s Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery.

A Chimp and a Controversial Cartoon. Free Speech or Censorship?

By Gene Policinski, vice president, executive director, First Amendment Center

The controversy over an editorial cartoon printed Feb.18 in the New York Post is a good example of how the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of all sides in a dispute — at least until the government gets involved.

At issue is a cartoon showing a chimpanzee that had been shot dead by two police officers, leaving two obvious bullet holes in the animal’s chest. One officer is saying, "They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."

The cartoon by Sean Delonas was published about a week after Congress adopted President Barack Obama’s much-debated economic recovery legislation and a few days after a chimpanzee mauled a woman in Connecticut and later was shot to death by a police officer.

Post editors and Delonas said the image was intended to link those two news events in a satirical reference to the slipshod method in which the economic legislation had been adopted. But to many Americans — particularly African Americans — the cartoon was a racist image of Obama. To others, it was an oblique, if not overt, call for presidential assassination. Still others faulted it for making light of the attack, with the victim still undergoing intensive medical treatment.

The First Amendment’s provision for a free press certainly protected the Post’s right to publish the cartoon. But within hours, the amendment’s provisions for free speech, as well as assembly and petition, also came into play. In New York and elsewhere, Post editors, Delonas and Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation which owns the newspaper, were condemned as racists. Pickets appeared in front of the newspaper’s headquarters.

The Post initially defended the cartoon as a satire about Washington politics. On Feb. 24, Murdoch accepted responsibility and personally apologized to "any reader who felt offended and even insulted."

Political cartoons have had a long and controversial history in America.

• • An early engraving by Paul Revere depicted armed British troops firing point-blank on unarmed colonials during the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. The factually inaccurate print was circulated widely throughout the colonies weeks after the incident and is considered significant in spurring anti-British sentiment.
  
  
• • In the 1870s, Thomas Nast’s biting cartoons in Harper’s Weekly magazine about political corruption established the modern editorial cartoon genre. A Sept. 30, 1871, cartoon portrayed catholic bishops as crocodiles crawling up on a riverbank to attack American families.

But cartoons and illustrations of African Americans uniquely touch the bitter U.S. history of race relations. Past portrayals used apes and monkeys and were replete with drawings that employed gross distortions of facial characteristics.

The nation’s founders envisioned free speech rights as providing for a robust and lively exchange of views. But when some critics called for a review of Murdoch’s application to the Federal Communications Commission to waiver its restrictions on owning a certain number of broadcast and print outlets in a single city, they raised the specter of government-as-censor — and that’s in direct opposition to what the First Amendment preserves and protects.

There is nothing in the 45 words of the First Amendment that require Americans to speak politely, civilly, positively or negatively, or in good taste. The amendment protects the speech of those whose words — or images — repel or please American sensibilities.

In fact, the First Amendment is predicated on the idea that disputes like the one over the Post cartoon are best settled through free and open exchange — the "marketplace of ideas" — rather than through censorship.

As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted in a 1927 opinion: "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, [then] the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."

For information on other First Amendment issues, please visit www.firstamendmentcenter.org.

Former President Clinton Visits Newseum

Former President Bill Clinton was a participant at the National Clean Energy Project Feb. 23 that was held at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center. He was later interviewed by CNBC’s Rebecca Quick, co-anchor of "Squawk Box."

Slideshow: You Never Know Who You’ll See at the Newseum

You Never Know Who You’ll See at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in town for the three-day National Governors Association meeting, was the guest Feb. 22 on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." The ABC show is broadcast every Sunday morning at the Newseum.

Former President Bill Clinton was a participant at the National Clean Energy Project Feb. 23 that was held at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center. He was later interviewed by CNBC’s Rebecca Quick, co-anchor of "Squawk Box."

Video: Former President Clinton Visits Newseum

News of Lincoln’s Death Reported in Rare Edition

By Kathryn Wilmot, Newseum curatorial specialist

Near the end of the Civil War on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln attended the play “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. At approximately 10:15 p.m., Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth stepped into the president’s box and fired one fatal shot to the back of Lincoln’s head.

News of this great tragedy quickly spread via telegraph to newspapers across the country. The New York Herald issued numerous editions on April 15, 1865, informing the public of Lincoln’s rapidly deteriorating condition. Six versions of these editions are part of the Newseum’s collection of historic newspapers, including a rare, four-page “Extra” that told of Lincoln’s demise at 8:45 a.m. — more than an hour earlier than other editions.

The front page of this “Extra” contains a telegram written by Edwin A. Stanton, the secretary of war, to Maj. Gen. John Dix.

“Abraham Lincoln died this morning twenty-two minutes after seven o’clock,” the telegram stated.

This edition of the Herald is currently on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery. A new exhibit on Lincoln’s death, “Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln’s Killer,” is open Feb. 14 through Dec. 2009.

During Civil War, Lincoln Sidestepped First Amendment

By Ronald K.L. Collins, First Amendment scholar, Freedom Forum

Once the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln allowed his critics — including Northerners opposed to the war, known as "Copperheads" — wide latitude in railing against his policies. Thus, the "Copperhead press" was routinely vitriolic in its protests. And yet, voices of dissent were often tolerated.

There were, however, instances in which Lincoln found it necessary to abridge the First Amendment. While some may criticize Lincoln, none can question the unique and daunting challenges facing him.

Suspending the Great Writ

On April 27, 1861, Lincoln, fearful of Southern troops overtaking the capital, suspended the writ of habeas corpus and declared martial law. Shortly afterward, Union soldiers captured John Merryman, a cavalryman who had burned bridges and destroyed telegraph lines. Merryman contested his military detention. A federal court upheld his claim. Lincoln, however, ignored the order and continued to seize and hold adversaries subject only to the constraints of military law. Insofar as all constitutional rights were suspended, all First Amendment rights were likewise suspended.

The Temperate President and His Intemperate General

In September 1862, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which drew considerable opposition from rebels and anti-war Copperheads. These newspapers lashed out against the president, tagging his proclamation "bloody" and "barbarous." With increasing frequency, more and more newspapers opposed the president’s proclamation. That in turn fueled new opposition, sometimes treasonous, to the Union effort.

Lincoln appointed Gen. Ambrose Burnside to oversee Ohio. In Burnside’s view, any criticism of the president was treasonous. He thus issued an order that warned that "declaring sympathies for the enemy" was a punishable offense. Burnside then went after anti-war protesters, most notably former Ohio congressman Clement Vallandigham, a rabid Copperhead and a vigorous defender of states’ rights. Burnside ordered Vallandigham arrested and charged him with uttering "disloyal sentiments and opinions."

A military tribunal convicted Vallandigham, who was sentenced to "close confinement" until the war’s end. Lincoln commuted the punishment to banishment to the Confederate states. Later, Burnside closed down the Chicago Times, which had been critical of Lincoln and supportive of Vallandigham. Lincoln urged Burnside to be less aggressive and to try to find some middle ground. Lincoln directed that the Chicago Times be allowed to resume publication.

Lincoln Loses His Patience

By May 1864, Lincoln’s patience with the Copperhead press ran out. What triggered his wrath was a bogus item that appeared in two New York papers — the Journal of Commerce and the World. A fake story reported a presidential proclamation that claimed Lincoln was about to draft 400,000 men. Lincoln ordered the two newspapers shut down and their publishers imprisoned. The Independent Telegraph System, which dispersed the story, was taken over by the military.

While Lincoln’s wartime First Amendment record is certainly controversial, it is nonetheless remarkable how much restraint he exercised in the face of truly nation-threatening challenges.

To read the complete version of this story, please visit www.firstamendmentcenter.org. A new exhibit on Lincoln’s death, “Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln’s Killer,” opens Feb. 14 through Dec. 2009.

Ron Collins is co-author with David M. Skover of "The Trials of Lenny Bruce" (Sourcebooks, 2002)

Back to the Future of the Penny Press

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

A little more than 175 years ago in 1833, New Yorkers woke up with The Sun — a new newspaper peddling a new idea: Common news for common folk, cheap at just a penny.

Printer Benjamin Day was the founder of the country’s first “penny paper.” His recipe of scoops, human-interest stories, tall tales and grisly crimes helped lure average readers to a medium that was once enjoyed largely by the upper crust.

One Sun story — a fantastic tale of batlike creatures living on the moon, discovered by astronomers in Africa using a huge telescope — set a world-record daily circulation of 19,000 in 1835. By 1870, another penny paper, The New York Herald, had the highest circulation — 77,000 copies a day — of any newspaper in the United States.

Fast forward to 2009, where decreased advertising, weak newsstand sales and dwindling subscriptions have forced a growing number of newspapers out of business. Scholars and journalists are offering revolutionary ideas on how to save the dailies from oblivion.

Some editors have contemplated printing solely online, where the sun never sets on the 24-hour news cycle, and content that was once free and available to everyone can potentially be accessed for — guess what? — pennies.

The 21st-century term for that 19th-century idea is called micropayment, a system where readers pay a small fee — practically pennies — for each story they click on. In other words, the penny press with a modem.

For years, The Wall Street Journal has charged for online content. The Christian Science Monitor and U.S. News and World Report are reportedly developing online news for a fee. Perhaps other newspapers will soon follow. Whatever makes cents.

In the meantime, copies of the original penny papers — the Sun and the Herald — are on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery. Learn more about the history of online media in the Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery.

And Justice For All: NAACP at 100

By Lesette R. Heath, special programs coordinator

In early 1909, a group of black and white activists gathered in a New York apartment with a daunting task before them: how to end the racial discrimination levied against black Americans?

On Feb. 12 — President Abraham Lincoln’s 100th birthday — the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was born. It remains the nation’s oldest champion for civil rights. The date of the organization’s founding was intentional.

"Besides being a day for rejoicing, [Lincoln’s birthday] should be one of taking stock of the nation’s progress since 1865," said Mary White Ovington, a suffragist, journalist and one of the NAACP’s founders. "How far has it lived up to the obligations imposed upon it by the Emancipation Proclamation?"

The answer was not a promising one. In 1908, the bloody race riots that erupted in Springfield, Ill., served as the catalyst for forming the NAACP. Joining Ovington in her crusade were fellow journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, physician Henry Moskowitz, newspaper editor Oswald Garrison Villard, labor reformer William English Walling, noted scholar W.E.B. DuBois, and others.

DuBois became editor of The Crisis, the organization’s monthly magazine established in 1910 that is still published today. Under his leadership, The Crisis became known as "the voice of militant black America" and addressed all forms of discrimination with editorial assaults on the Ku Klux Klan, the South’s ugly tradition of lynching and President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to segregate the federal government. A 1910 edition of The Crisis is on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

The NAACP’s legal arm took on notable people and institutions in its fight against injustice. In 1954, it won one of its biggest court battles with Brown v. the Board of Education. Member Rosa Parks also sparked the 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, which led to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2000, organizers held "The Great March" in Columbia, S.C., to protest the flying of the Confederate flag.

The inauguration of the country’s first black president in 2009 holds special significance as the NAACP turns 100. As current NAACP president Ben Jealous recently noted in The Seattle Medium, a black newspaper, though people are still adversely affected by race in America, Barack Obama’s presidency represents "a culmination of a long march for justice."

The Beatles in America: We Loved Them, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

By Ann Rauscher, Newseum exhibits editor

The time: 1:20 p.m., Feb. 7, 1964. The place: Kennedy International Airport in New York. The scene: Pandemonium.

When Pan Am Flight 101 from London touched down and four mop-topped English musicians from Liverpool emerged from the plane, they were greeted by 3,000 screaming teenagers, 200 reporters and photographers, and more than 100 of New York’s finest, trying to maintain order. Beatlemania had arrived in America.

The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — were newsmakers from the moment they stepped on American soil. As fans chanted "We want Beatles!" and photographers snapped pictures, the band members were ushered inside the airport for their first U.S. press conference.

The quartet’s cheeky humor was on full display at the press conference. After a reporter informed them that people in Detroit were handing out "Stamp Out the Beatles" stickers, McCartney said, "Yeah, well, we’re bringing out a Stamp Out Detroit campaign." When asked why they thought their music was so exciting to fans, Lennon replied, "If we knew, we’d form another group and be managers."

But the press coverage of the group’s arrival in New York was not the first time Americans were exposed to the Beatles. Time and Newsweek were among the first U.S. publications to take notice of the Beatlemania craze sweeping England. Both magazines ran articles in mid-November 1963, after the Beatles played a command performance before British royalty in London.

Newsweek called their sound "one of the most persistent noises heard over England since the air-raid sirens were dismantled." Time’s assessment of their music: "Their songs consist mainly of "Yeh!" screamed to the accompaniment of three guitars and a thunderous drum."

Reporters in the London bureaus of the U.S. broadcast networks also witnessed the hysteria and prepared reports on the phenomenon. NBC’s "Huntley-Brinkley Report" aired a four-minute segment on the Beatles the evening of Nov. 18, 1963.

A story on the group ran on the "CBS Morning News With Mike Wallace" the morning of Nov. 22, but the network’s plans to repeat the segment that evening on Walter Cronkite’s newscast fell by the wayside a few hours later, when Cronkite reported the breaking news that shots had been fired at President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade in Dallas. For nearly four days, all regular programming was canceled as the networks covered the death and funeral of the president.

The Beatles segment finally aired on the "CBS Evening News" on Dec. 10. Less than two months later, Walter Cronkite’s nightly newscast featured the Beatles’ triumphant arrival in New York. CBS viewers saw the Beatles again on Feb. 9, 1964, when the group performed live on "The Ed Sullivan Show," reaching a record-breaking audience of 73 million.

The Beatles revolutionized rock ‘n’ roll music in the 1960s and became an integral part of popular culture. Even after the band broke up in 1970, the press continued to cover individual band members. When John Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, news coverage of his death rivaled that of a world leader. Two decades later, the news of George Harrison’s death from cancer in November 2001 made front pages around the world.

Excerpts from TV news coverage of the Beatles’ Feb. 7, 1964, arrival in New York and press conference at Kennedy Airport can be seen in the Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery. Newspaper front pages from the group’s first U.S. visit and the death of John Lennon are featured in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

On Booth’s Trail

James L. Swanson chronicles his lifelong interest in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, which resulted in the New York Times best-seller "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer."

Return to "Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln's Killer"

Online Book Shop
• • "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer" by James L. Swanson
  "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" is a fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.
• • "Chasing Lincoln’s Killer" by James L. Swanson
  Based on his bestselling adult book "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer," this young people's version is an accessible look at the assassination of a president, and the pursuit and capture of his killer.

Newseum Kicks Off 2009 With a Bang

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama. George Clooney. Anderson Cooper. Shakira.

What do these superstars of politics, entertainment and the media have in common?

They were among the hundreds of top newsmakers who helped make the Newseum the place to be in January.

Video: President-elect Barack Obama at the Newseum

Where’s the Post-Dispatch-Democrat-Gazette-Herald?

"Why didn’t you include my hometown newspaper in your online exhibit?"

That is perhaps the No. 1 question asked by readers of the daily "Today’s Front Pages" exhibit. The answers are simple:

• • Some newspapers do not have the technological capability of transmitting their front pages electronically in the required format.
• • Some newspapers do not participate.

The good news is that the growing popularity of "Today’s Front Pages" has prompted more newspapers to include themselves in the online exhibit. More than 700 newspapers worldwide currently transmit their front pages daily to the Newseum.

View frequently asked questions we receive about "Today’s Front Pages" and the newest feature, "Today’s Top Ten."

Clooney, Small Have a ‘Good Night’ at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — George Clooney brought star power and charm to the second installment of the "Reel Journalism With Nick Clooney" film series at the Newseum on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, with a sold-out screening of "Good Night, and Good Luck." The film series, co-produced by the Newseum and the American University School of Communication, is hosted by veteran newsman and American University journalist-in-residence Nick Clooney.

A freewheeling, humorous and insightful panel discussion with Nick, son George and Bill Small, chairman of news and documentary Emmys at the National Television Academy and the author of two award-winning books on the media, preceded the film screening.

The “Reel Journalism” series presents sometimes accurate and sometimes questionable depictions of journalists and journalism. It also provides a forum for discussing the important role of the press in a democratic society.

Upcoming movies include “Citizen Kane” and “All the President’s Men.”

Watch video clips of George Clooney, Nick Clooney and Bill Small discussing the film "Good Night, and Good Luck."

The Newseum from Dawn to Dusk

WASHINGTON — More than 25,000 people visited the Newseum during the inaugural weekend that began Jan. 17 and ended on Inauguration Day.

Visitors and A-list celebrities, as well as major broadcast, cable and radio news networks, took advantage of the Newseum’s prime location on America’s Main Street for live broadcasts, inaugural balls and to view the historic inaugural parade.

To commemorate the momentous event, the Newseum looks back at the people and events that led up to the historic day.

Preserving Newspaper Mementos: Tips For Safe Storage

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Just as his historic election as the first African-American president of the United States prompted a nationwide run on newspapers, President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20 forced publishers to print extra editions of the event to keep up with public demand. The challenge now for new collectors is to guarantee a long shelf life for their precious mementos.

The Newseum’s curatorial department preserves more than 35,000 historic newspapers and periodicals in its collection — some dating back to 1526 — and knows a thing or two about how to make sure these newspapers are protected for years to come. Here are answers to the frequently asked questions our curators received in the aftermath of Election Day.

How do I make sure my newspaper stays in good condition?

The most important safety tip is to make sure the newspapers are not exposed to light. Light damage is cumulative and irreversible. Avoid handling the newspaper as much as possible.

Will plastic wrap protect my newspaper?

No, not home or kitchen wrap. We recommend three ways to preserve your newspaper.

• • Store the newspaper in an acid-free “buffered” archival folder — also called a map/print folder because of its size. Today’s newspapers contain acidic wood pulp; buffering agents help slow their deterioration. Buy an archival folder large enough to store the newspaper unfolded and flat. Storing newspapers folded will result in eventual separation at the fold due to stress. Watch this video from February 2008 to see an example of an archival folder.
• • Place the newspaper in Melinex — a clear, stiff, inert polyester that acts as a support for paper materials. We suggest Melinex that is sealed on one long side. For extra protection, put the Melinex-sealed newspaper in an archival folder. Some suppliers offer archival folders with a Melinex cover already inside.
• • Put the newspaper in coated or uncoated acid-free newspaper boxes, preferably buffered, and large enough to store the newspaper flat. Coated boxes are more expensive, since they have a water-resistant finish.

Where can I buy Melinex, archival folders or newspaper boxes?

These products are not readily available in stores and can be purchased online through archival suppliers such as Gaylord Brothers, Light Impressions, Archival Methods, and Hollinger/Metal Edge. The products are expensive, but they will ensure that your newspaper is protected for a very long time.

Where should I store my newspaper?

The storage environment for newspapers should be moderate, without extreme fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Closet shelves are a good home option for storing newspapers. Attics and basements are less than ideal spaces for archival materials because of temperature and humidity variations.

Can I keep the newspaper with other collectibles?

Do not store the unprotected newspaper with or next to other acidic materials such as wood, cardboard, notebook paper, etc.

Is it OK to frame the newspaper for hanging?

Framing is OK, but it’s important to keep newspapers away from sunlight, moisture and insects. Use conservation quality glass or acrylic that filters out harmful UV light. Even if you use UV-filtered glass, do not place the framed newspaper in a sunny area. Make sure that the matting or backing is 100 percent cotton fiber — cotton rag matboard — and preferably buffered. Never place the newspaper on a cardboard backing. This will result in rapid deterioration. Most custom frame shops will have these materials available, so you may not have to buy them online.

Related topic: Extra! Extra! Newspaper Souvenirs Beat Web By a Landslide

Window on a Presidential Parade

WASHINGTON — The inaugural procession on America’s Main Street was filled with motorcades, marching bands and media. The Newseum’s large glass windows offered visitors a unique look at the historic parade.

Video Blog: Newseum Goers Witness History

The Newseum’s Sonya Gavankar shows the fun that visitors had as they took part in the historic proceedings on America’s main street.

More Inauguration Day video

Video Blog: Live From the Newseum

The Newseum’s unique communications systems and broadcast facilities make it home away from home for all the media covering the 44th inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Related Story: For Inauguration Day, Media Find Room With a View

'Cool' View: Crowds Brave Cold, Lines For a Place in History

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

WASHINGTON — Forty-five minutes after the Newseum’s 10 a.m. Inauguration Day opening, nearly 2,000 people had already streamed through the C Street entrance. Many, like Cheryl Clinton of Bowie, Md., withstood freezing temperatures and blustery winds to line up at 4 a.m.

"I wanted my children to have this experience," said Clinton, who was visiting the Newseum for the first time. "How could I not come?"

Fifteen-year-old Grace Barnes and her mother, Lynne Perri, who queued up at 6:10 a.m., bypassed the galleries and made a beeline for a choice spot at the glass windows that overlook the parade route on historic Pennsylvania Avenue.

"There was no way we were seeing the exhibits," Barnes said.

Crystal Crawford of Los Angeles, Calif., got through the doors just as Barack Obama was preparing to take the oath of office.

"The line was long, but it was worth the wait," she said. "I have such pride in the excellence of character, intelligence and humility of our new president."

For the past four days, the Newseum has been the place to be and be seen during Inauguration festivities. Online publisher Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post hosted an Inaugural Eve party that drew hundreds of A-list celebrities. Many of the major broadcast, cable and radio news networks — including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC and NBC — have used the building for live broadcasts since Jan. 17.

"I saw Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos," Stacy Dussault of Bethesda, Md., said. "It was very cool."

Her husband, Joe, was impressed with the ceremony that was shown on the 40-foot-by-22-foot high-definition media screen.

"It was chilling. It was powerful," he said. "I feel like something huge has happened."

Several visitors applauded when a picture of the helicopter carrying former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush appeared on the screen.

"No disrespect, but you’ve got to go," said Crawford, who had a 6:45 p.m. flight back to Los Angeles soon after the parade.

"I’ve been crying half the day," said Fannell Matthews, who waited for Hampton University’s marching band to pass the Newseum. The Chicago native had mixed emotions about Obama’s presidency.

"We’re losing our senator for the United States. It’s a real sacrifice."

Visitors and Media Soak Up Inaugural Celebration

The Newseum hosts excited visitors and busy broadcasters as Barack Obama takes the oath of office to become the nation’s 44th president.

Video Blog: Best Seat in the 'House'

Most of the TV networks and other media outlets have staked out prime spots in the Newseum, which is situated in an ideal position along the inaugural parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue. The world’s most interactive museum has sweeping views of the U.S. Capitol and other Washington landmarks.

Newseum: The Place to Be for Inauguration

WASHINGTON — Hollywood celebrities and Washington politicos mingled at an Inauguration Eve party at the Newseum, thrown by Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington.

Video Blog: Night at the Newseum

The Newseum’s Sonya Gavankar takes a nocturnal stroll through the building to document some of the shenanigans as the staff hunkers down on Inauguration Eve.

Video Blog: CNN’s John King Pulls Back Curtain

The Newseum’s Frank Bond talks with CNN anchor John King about the new interactive, 3-D technology the cable news network is using. The Newseum is "media central" for most of the major networks.

For Inauguration Day, Media Find Room With a View

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

WASHINGTON — Location, location, location.

Between Jan. 17 and Inauguration Day, the Newseum, the interactive museum about news, will be a big part of the news, as major broadcast, cable and radio news networks use the building’s prime spot on historic Pennsylvania Avenue for live broadcasts of inaugural activities.

With its ideal position along the inaugural parade route and sweeping views of the U.S. Capitol and other Washington landmarks, the Newseum was a natural fit for networks seeking a place to set up shop.

"The Newseum will be inauguration central for this momentous political, social and media event," said Jack Hurley, the Newseum’s senior vice president for broadcasting. "Broadcasters will reach worldwide audiences because of the extraordinary technical infrastructure designed by our engineering team."

Organizations that will broadcast from the Newseum’s studios, terraces and galleries include ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC and NBC, NPR, New York’s WABC, Washington’s WJLA, WRC and local radio stations WHUR and WTOP.

One of the Newseum’s most popular exhibits is "Be a TV Reporter," where would-be reporters stand in front of a camera and read the news from a teleprompter. But with so many celebrity anchors, hosts and correspondents housed in one place, visitors will get a close-up look at how the professionals prepare the news.

"The Newseum has hosted U.S. presidents and foreign heads of state, prime ministers and royalty. During the inauguration, we will host newscasters and reporters seen and heard by millions. Our visitors will get a peek at how news is covered," Hurley said.

Related stories:
Video Blog: Live From the Newseum
Video Blog: CNN's John King Pulls Back Curtain
Newseum Part of History on America’s Main Street
First Things First: Facts About Presidential Inaugurations
Obama Visits the Newseum
Inauguration Weekend at the Newseum

King delivered a now-famous call for justice in 1963.

On Aug. 28, 1963, more than 200,000 Americans marched in the nation's capital, calling for the government to end social, economic and political inequality between blacks and whites. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech put a dramatic exclamation point on the day's events. Nearly 50 years after his speech, King’s dream is being realized.

FotoWeek DC, Newseum Announce New Contest

WASHINGTON — FotoWeek DC and the Newseum celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama by sponsoring fotobamaweek, a photography contest that is open to anyone in the world, including professional and amateur photographers, students and children.

The contest opens on Jan. 15, 2009, and ends March 15, 2009. All entries — taken with digital, film or cell phone cameras — must be submitted electronically by March 15. To enter, please visit www.fotoweekdc.org.

Other details:

• • The top 100 winning images, selected by the Newseum’s panel of judges, will be displayed at the Newseum.
• • The images will be published in a limited edition book sponsored by FotoWeek DC.
• • Grand prize winners will receive cash prizes totaling $5,000.
• • Winners will be announced on April 30.

FotoWeek DC is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the role of photography in our world and to unite and strengthen the photography community in Washington.

President-elect Obama Returns to the Newseum

President-elect Barack Obama was the featured guest on an early taping of ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Jan. 10, 2009. The news show is taped each Sunday morning in the Knight Studio on Pennsylvania Avenue, as part of a partnership between ABC News and the Newseum. Obama first visited the Newseum in May of last year when he was a guest on the show. Watch a video as he exits the studio.

President-elect Barack Obama at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama was the featured guest on an early taping of ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Jan. 10, 2009. The news show is taped each Sunday morning in the Knight Studio on Pennsylvania Avenue, as part of a partnership between ABC News and the Newseum.

Photo Slideshow: President-elect Obama Returns to the Newseum

Advertisements on the Front Page: Old News

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

The trend continues.

In an effort to boost its bottom line, The Boston Globe became the latest major daily newspaper to sell ads on the front page. The New York Times carried its first front-page display ad on Jan. 5, 2009 — an ad for CBS that ran across the bottom of the page.

The Globe and Times join a growing list of dailies, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, that run ads on the front page. But front-page advertising is nothing new. 

"In the 18th and 19th centuries, newspapers frequently included advertisements on the front page, providing readers with information such as dry goods for sale, public auctions, descriptions of runaway servants or the sailing of commercial and passenger vessels," said Newseum curatorial specialist Kathryn Wilmot.

Some early U.S. newspapers even included "advertiser" as part of their names. Mastheads carried names such as The Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser and Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser. Other names were the South-Carolina Gazette and General Advertiser, The New York Packet and American Advertiser, Dunlap’s American Daily Advertiser and The Federal Gazette and Philadelphia Daily Advertiser.

One of the most infamous front-page ads appeared in the April 27, 1882, edition of Missouri’s Neosho Times, where a banner headline — "Jesse James Assassinated!" — trumpeted the notorious outlaw’s death. Readers expecting details of James’s slaying were greatly disappointed. The headline was merely a teaser. The text beneath the headline was part of a nearly full-page advertisement touting bargains and a "great clearance sale" at McElhany & Bro., a local store.

"In the dress goods department, we have all the newest, latest and most desirable styles out from the finest silk to the cheapest calico," the ad stated. "Our clothing and hat department is immense, and by looking through this department, you will be convinced of the fact that neither man nor boy can fail to be suited in style, make and price. … In conclusion, we will say, that it is no longer necessary to send abroad for anything you may need in our line for we assure you we have everything you may need." 

James’s death was covered on an inside page. 

The original issue of The Neosho Times is currently on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Video Blog: Newseum Dresses Up for Obama's Inauguration

The Newseum is getting a special wrap to commemorate President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Senior exhibit manager Bryan Schultz explains the process.

Related Link: Inauguration Weekend

First Things First: Facts About Presidential Inaugurations

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

At the beginning of his second term in 1805, Thomas Jefferson became the first president to participate in a tradition that has become a staple of presidential inaugurations: the inaugural procession on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

On Jan. 20, 2009, more than 200 years after Jefferson’s inaugural parade, Barack Obama will carry on the time-honored tradition as he takes his place in history as the nation’s first black president. Record crowds are expected in Washington for Obama’s inauguration, making his one of the most popular celebrations in the country’s history.  

As Washington and the nation prepares for the inauguration, the Newseum — located along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue — highlights some of the historic firsts surrounding presidential inaugurations.

• • 1845: James K. Polk’s inauguration was the first to be reported by telegraph. Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, transmitted news of the ceremony to Baltimore from a telegraph set up on the inaugural platform at the U.S. Capitol.
• • 1897: William McKinley’s inaugural parade was the first to be recorded on movie film.
• • 1909: William Howard Taft’s wife, Helen, became the first first lady to ride in an inaugural parade with her husband from the Capitol to the White House.
• • 1921: Warren G. Harding became the first president to ride in an automobile to and from his inauguration.
• • 1925: Calvin Coolidge’s inaugural was the first to be broadcast nationally over radio. Some 25 million Americans listened; the Associated Press called it “the greatest audience ever addressed by any man.”
• • 1937: Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president inaugurated on Jan. 20, instead of March 4. His vice president, John Nance Garner, was the first to be sworn in on the same platform as the president.
• • 1949: Harry S. Truman’s inauguration and parade were the first to be televised. An estimated 10 million people watched the events. “Home Viewers Get All of Color, Pomp,” headlined the Chicago Daily Tribune.
• • 1961: John F. Kennedy’s inauguration was the first to be broadcast in color.
• • 1977: Jimmy Carter was the first president to walk from the Capitol to the White House after taking the oath of office.
• • 1981: Ronald Reagan’s inaugural ceremony was the first to be held on the West Front of the Capitol, rather than the East Front.

For his part, Obama will host a “Neighborhood Inaugural Ball,” an all-inclusive, first-of-its-kind celebration that will feature webcasting and text messaging to link neighborhoods across the country to the celebration in Washington. 

The history of Pennsylvania Avenue, including the events and people who made it famous, is featured in a permanent exhibit on the Hank Greenspun Terrace on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Related Links:
Inauguration Weekend at the Newseum
Newseum Part of History on America’s Main Street

Newseum Part of History on America’s Main Street

By Cathy Trost, director of exhibit development

The Newseum, rich in historical artifacts and stories, occupies land that has its own story to tell.

The site of the Newseum — Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., in downtown Washington — was occupied from 1826 to 1942 by the National Hotel, one of the most famous hotels of its era.

In April 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth took a room at the National Hotel, his favorite place to stay in Washington. Booth hated President Abraham Lincoln and longed to avenge the Confederate cause. On the evening of April 14, five days after the surrender at Appomattox that ended the Civil War, Booth shot and mortally wounded Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, several blocks away.

While Lincoln lay dying, investigators searched Booth’s room at the National Hotel and found a letter that seemed to connect him to a plot against the president. Booth died in a shootout with federal agents 12 days after the assassination.

On April 19, Lincoln’s body was escorted down Pennsylvania Avenue by a large funeral procession. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated.

Booth’s brother later wrote a letter to President Andrew Johnson asking that the contents of Booth’s hotel room be returned to the family:

There is also (I am told) a trunk of his at the National Hotel. … it may contain relics of the poor misguided boy — which would be dear to his sorrowing mother, and of no use to anyone.

The National Hotel eventually closed and was demolished in 1942 to make way for a local government building. The Freedom Forum purchased the property from the District of Columbia in 2000 to relocate the Newseum there from its original location in Arlington, Va.

An exhibit on the history of "America’s Main Street," as well as a panoramic view of Washington landmarks, is on display on the Newseum’s Hank Greenspun Terrace on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Related Links:
Inauguration Weekend at the Newseum
First Things First: Facts About Presidential Inaugurations

The Year in Pictures at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — Since its grand opening April 11, 2008, the Newseum has been the scene for news makers and news-making events. Here is a photographic look back at some of the people and programs that helped make the Newseum the second hottest address on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Remembering Journalists We Lost

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

As 2008 comes to an end, the Newseum recognizes notable men and women who passed away this year and whose contributions to journalism will not be forgotten.

William F. Buckley Jr. (1925 - 2008)

As a magazine editor, syndicated columnist, prolific author and host of "Firing Line," William F. Buckley Jr. was a one-man media corporation. With his patrician bearing, arched eyebrows and a vocabulary loaded with obscure words, Buckley was considered a favorite conservative of liberals. The National Review, the magazine he founded in 1955, helped elevate conservative opinion into the political mainstream. Buckley died at his desk in his study. "He might have been working on a column," said his son.

Alvah H. Chapman Jr. (1921 - 2008)

Alvah H. Chapman Jr. was born into a newspaper family. He was chairman and CEO of Knight Ridder — formerly the parent company of The Miami Herald — for 13 years and believed that businesses had a responsibility to the communities they served. He led efforts to rebuild South Florida in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew, to house the homeless and to fight drug abuse. "You can’t publish a successful newspaper in a community that’s dying on the vine," he said.

Clay Felker (1928 - 2008)

Clay Felker launched New York magazine in 1968 with smart, sassy articles aimed at young, affluent and upwardly mobile readers. The magazine was a showcase for writers such as Tom Wolfe and Gloria Steinem whose articles embraced the "New Journalism" of the time. New York was copied in other cities, breathing new life into regional magazine publishing. "I’ve been criticized for being elitist," Felker once told The New York Times, "but that’s who … consumes print."

W. Mark Felt (1913 - 2008)

W. Mark Felt was perhaps the most famous anonymous source in journalism history. He was the mysterious informer known as "Deep Throat" who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon to resign. For more than 30 years, his identity was one of Washington’s best-kept secrets. Not until 2005 did Felt, second in command at the FBI at the time of Watergate, reveal his identity. "I’m the guy they used to call "Deep Throat," he told Vanity Fair magazine.

Mary Garber (1916 - 2008)

Winston-Salem Journal sportswriter Mary Garber was barred from membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference Sportswriters Association in the 1950s because she was a woman. Two decades later, she was its president. Garber covered almost every sport, often as the only woman. She called Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League Baseball player, "the most important influence" in her life. "I would look at how he kept his mouth shut and did his job as best he could with the belief that someday he would be accepted," she said. In 2005, she became the first woman to win the Red Smith Award, the highest honor given by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Tom Gish (1926 - 2008)

Veteran reporter Tom Gish and his wife Pat bought The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., in 1957. The newspaper’s motto: "It Screams!" The crusading Gishes, considered rural America’s best journalists, survived boycotts and in time inspired laws limiting strip mining. When their office was destroyed by arson in 1974, the Gishes published from their home. The front page of the first published paper after the fire had a photo of the burned office, but the top story was about a local tax issue. "It Still Screams!" read the masthead.

Bill Headline (1931 - 2008)

CNN pioneer and veteran newsman Bill Headline had the perfect name for his profession. The former CBS News executive was CNN’s Washington bureau chief for 12 years, during which time he helped bring credibility to the young cable network that critics dubbed the Chicken Noodle Network. He said his work at CNN made him "happy as a clam." He retired from CNN in 1998 and was for two years executive director of the controversial Voter News Service, a now-defunct exit polling organization based in New York.

Jim McKay (1921 - 2008)

Horse racing was "Wide World of Sports" host Jim McKay’s favorite sport. But it was his place at center stage of a world drama at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich for which he is forever linked. When 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage, McKay anchored 18 hours of field coverage. When the hostages were killed by Palestinian extremists, McKay’s grim words — "They’re all gone" — alerted the world. "I was full of emotion," said McKay, the first sportscaster to win an Emmy. "But when you are a professional, it is important to communicate what it is like, to capture the moment."

Nancy Hicks Maynard (1946 - 2008)

Trailblazer Nancy Hicks Maynard spent more than four decades improving news coverage of the black community. She and her husband, Robert, quit top newspaper jobs in the East and founded the Institute for Journalism Education (renamed the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education) in 1977 in Berkeley, Calif., which opened newsroom doors to journalists of color. In 1983 they bought the Oakland Tribune, making them the first African Americans to own a major daily newspaper. "No job in the world is better than being a newspaper publisher," said Maynard, who was also chair of the defunct Freedom Forum Media Studies Center.

Ike Pappas (1933 - 2008)

Ike Pappas covered the Vietnam War, the Kent State uprising and other major stories for CBS News in the 1960s, but it was his on-the-spot account of the surprised shooting of presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald for which he is best known. Pappas was among a group of reporters in the basement of the Dallas police station in 1963 when Oswald was being escorted to jail. Pappas had just asked Oswald a question when nightclub owner Jack Ruby pushed him aside and shot Oswald. "There’s a shot! Oswald has been shot!" Pappas reported live to the radio audience. He later testified at Ruby’s trial and before the Warren Commission.

Dith Pran (1942 - 2008)

Dith Pran was a translator and assistant to New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg in Cambodia in 1975 when the country fell to the brutal Khmer Rouge. Pran was imprisoned for four years, suffering severe beatings and subsisting on a teaspoon of rice a day. He escaped Cambodia in 1979, trekking 60 miles to Thailand. The critically acclaimed movie "The Killing Fields" chronicled his and Schanberg’s experiences. He moved to New York in 1980 and became a Times photographer. His theory of photojournalism: "You have to be a pineapple. You have to have a hundred eyes."

Tim Russert (1950 - 2008)

Tim Russert died doing what he loved: preparing for Sunday’s edition of "Meet the Press," where he had been the moderator since 1991. His aggressive but balanced interviewing style earned him the respect of fellow journalists and the politicians and celebrities he interviewed. His use of a low-tech eraser board to predict the key to winning the 2000 presidential elections — "Florida! Florida! Florida" — remains one of the most memorable events in political news coverage. Russert was a Newseum trustee.

Tony Snow (1955 - 2008)

Tony Snow said he felt stalked all his adult life by the threat of colon cancer, which killed his mother when he was 17. When his colon cancer recurred in 2007, two years after an initial diagnosis, the former newspaper editor and columnist, TV and radio host and White House press secretary handled the news publicly, candidly and with his customary grace. "Not everybody will survive cancer," he said in 2007, but on the other hand, you’ve got to realize you’ve got the gift of life, so make the most of it."

Studs Terkel (1912 - 2008)

Studs Terkel was a journalistic original whose taped oral histories painted American life with the voices of regular folk. "I celebrate the non-celebrated," he said. His history of World War II won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. Other articles and books mined the Great Depression, the American Dream and race. In 1997, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for giving ordinary citizens a voice. What did his interviews teach him? "Geez, that the human race is somethin’."

These journalists are featured in Newseum galleries and exhibits. They are honored separately from the journalists who were killed in 2008 trying to report the news. For a preliminary list of those journalists, visit the Journalists Memorial gallery.

Obama, Economy Top News on 2008’s Front Pages

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

The historic election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president was the No. 1 news story of 2008, according to an Associated Press annual poll of the top 10 news stories.

Obama’s unprecedented victory sent readers scrambling for newspaper souvenirs, forcing many newspapers around the country to publish extra copies in record numbers.

The U.S. economy — including the collapse of Wall Street banks, housing foreclosures and stock market dives — was the second biggest story of the year.

Rounding out the top 10:

3. Sky-rocketing oil prices
4. The war in Iraq
5. The Beijing Olympics
6. The earthquake in China
7. Gov. Sarah Palin’s vice presidential bid
8. Terrorism in Mumbai
9. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid
10. The Russia-Georgia war

The front pages for many of these news stories can be found in the Newseum’s archive of front pages.

Watergate’s "Deep Throat" Dies

By John Maynard, Newseum exhibits writer

Mark Felt, journalism’s most famous anonymous source, died Dec. 18 at age 95. As "Deep Throat," he helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon by leaking information about the Watergate break-in to The Washington Post.

Felt was a top FBI official in 1972 when five men broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at Washington’s Watergate complex. A security guard discovered tape on the latch of a stairwell door, which led to the burglars’ arrest and touched off the Watergate scandal.

Frustrated by pressure from the White House to downplay the break-in, Felt relayed information to reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. They exposed the Nixon administration’s involvement in the break-in, which led to the president’s resignation in 1974.

For 30 years, the identity of "Deep Throat" remained one of the nation’s biggest secrets. Only Woodward, Bernstein and Post editor Ben Bradlee knew his true identity. Felt was finally revealed as "Deep Throat" in a 2005 profile in Vanity Fair.

The Watergate door, Bernstein’s notes and other Watergate artifacts can be seen in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery.

President-Elect Barack Obama Part of a Timely Tradition

By Ann Rauscher, Newseum exhibits editor

In 1927, a young pilot named Charles Lindbergh catapulted to international fame when he became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Later that year, another historic first took place when Time magazine dubbed Lindbergh “Man of the Year,” starting one of the most famous traditions in American journalism.

Each year, the editors of Time select the person or people who, in their judgment, most affected the news over the past 12 months. The magazine’s 2008 “Person of the Year” is President-elect Barack Obama, who will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009, and is the first black person elected to the office.

The annual tradition began almost by chance. In late December 1927, when the magazine’s editors faced a slow news week and could not decide on a cover subject for the first issue of the new year, someone suggested that they make up for an oversight earlier in the year, when they had neglected to put Lindbergh on the cover after he completed his solo flight across the Atlantic in May.

The idea became a hit. Over the years, selections have included the famous and infamous — presidents and dictators, statesmen and scientists, civic leaders and innovators. But after 81 years, Lindbergh, who was 25 when he became the first Man of the Year, remains the youngest person to receive the distinction.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only three-time Man of the Year. Three women received the honor as individuals, most recently Corazon Aquino in 1986, and China’s Madame Chiang Kai-shek was named with her husband in 1937. In the 21st century, four more women have been added to the ranks — three women known collectively as “The Whistleblowers” were named the 2002 Persons of the Year, and Melinda Gates shared the title in 2005 with her husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Irish musician Bono.

The year’s biggest newsmaker is not always a single individual or even a human. Time has named groups of people, including Hungarian freedom fighters (1956) and American women (1975), as well as the computer (Machine of the Year in 1982) and Earth itself (1988’s Planet of the Year). Perhaps the most unusual recipient came in 2006, when the magazine featured a mirror-like piece of reflective Mylar on the cover and named “You” as Person of the Year.

Time, the first modern newsmagazine, was founded in 1923 by journalists Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden. The first Man of the Year issue is displayed in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery, along with Time’s inaugural issue and other first-edition magazines from Luce’s Time Inc. publications empire.

Shelter Dog Tops Newseum’s Presidential Pooch Poll

WASHINGTON — Nearly 7,000 Newseum visitors picked a shelter dog as their favorite canine for President-elect Barack Obama and his family.

During the month-old poll, part of the Newseum’s popular exhibit "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets," visitors cast their votes among five hypoallergenic breeds, recommended by the American Kennel Club, and a shelter dog. The shelter dog received 3,276 votes, or 49 percent. The Bichon Frisé was a distant second with 21 percent. Runner-ups included:

• • Wheaten Terrier, 13 percent
• • Poodle, 7 percent
• • Miniature Schnauzer, 6 percent
• • Chinese Crested, 4 percent

Read the related press release

"First Dogs" is scheduled to remain on display at the Newseum through May 15, 2009.

The exhibit is supported by a gift from PEDIGREE®, a brand of Mars, Inc.

Ladies’ Home Journal Celebrates 125 years

By Lesette R. Heath, Newseum special programs coordinator

In December 1883, the first issue of Ladies’ Home Journal debuted with articles on needlework and columns on flower care and child rearing, recipes and fashion tips. Today, the popular women’s magazine offers advice on family, marriage, work, home and beauty. Little has changed in 125 years.

Combining style with substance, Ladies’ Home Journal maintains a loyal following — it’s read by one in eight women and shows little signs of aging.

In the beginning, it was known as The Ladies’ Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, and marketed as a trade newspaper. Like other publications devoted to the interests of women, it was designed to help middle-class women in their jobs as housewives, according to Mary Ellen Zuckerman, the author of "A History of Popular Women’s Magazines in the United States, 1792-1995."

Under founding editor Louisa Knapp, the wife of owner Cyrus Curtis, the magazine flourished, reaching a circulation of 1 million in 10 years. By this time, Knapp had handed over the reins to Edward W. Bok, although she continued to have an active role at the magazine.

Bok guided the magazine for 30 years, expanding its content to include essays, poetry, and political and social commentary. Described as a legendary figure in the magazine world, Bok helped turn Ladies’ Home Journal into one of the most prestigious publications of the early 20th century.

In the decades that followed, the magazine maintained its sense of tradition, but also adapted with the times.

At the height of the Great Depression, Ladies’ Home Journal encouraged women to "escape Depression realities." A February 1932 headline insisted "It’s up to the Women." The magazine also showed its patriotism during both world wars, urging women to participate in activities to help the war efforts.

By October 1946, Ladies’ Home Journal introduced its slogan, "never underestimate the power of a woman." Also synonymous with the magazine is the column "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" Launched in 1953, the feature quickly captured reader interest for its honest view of marriage.

Today, Ladies’ Home Journal speaks candidly — and personally — to its readers, addressing topics from breast cancer to ways to overcome supermom syndrome.

Examples of early women’s magazines from the 18th and 19th centuries can be seen in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery.

Video Blog: Holiday Shopping at the Newseum

Time is running out to complete your holiday shopping, and the Newseum’s Sonya Gavankar has some tips to make it easy.

Shop Online: Check out quality, unique gifts – only at the Newseum store.

Buy a Newseum Membership: It makes a wonderful gift that keeps on giving.

Visit the Newseum Store: The Newseum Store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for Newseum visitors. Nonpaying guests may shop at the Newseum Store between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. daily and must stop at the main admission desk to be escorted to the store.

'Yes, Virginia' Editorial Outlasts the Sun

By W. Joseph Campbell, associate professor, American University

American journalism’s best-known editorial, a timeless tribute to childhood and the Christmas spirit, marked its 111th anniversary in September. Ten days later, it passed another, if little-recognized milestone: outlasting the second iteration of the newspaper in which it originally appeared.

The editorial was published beneath the headline "Is There A Santa Claus?" in 1897 in the New York Sun, a gray but lively newspaper that began as a penny paper in 1833. The editorial’s author was Francis Pharcellus Church, a veteran journalist who was assigned to write a reply to a letter from an 8-year-old named Virginia O’Hanlon.

"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus," Virginia had written. "Papa says ‘if you see it in the Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"

"Virginia, your little friends are wrong," Church replied. "They have been afflicted by the skepticism of a skeptical age."

A few sentences later, Church invoked the editorial’s most memorable passages: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus."

"Is There A Santa Claus?" was given an obscure place in the Sun, in the third of three columns of editorials on Sept. 21, 1897. It was oddly timed, too — an editorial about Santa Claus appearing in September, three months before Christmas.

But over the years, the editorial became a classic in American journalism, and easily the most memorable item ever published in the Sun. That venerable newspaper folded in January 1950.

The Sun remained a storied name in American journalism, and the name was revived in April 2002 by owners of a new conservative-oriented daily in New York. The resurrected Sun laid claim to its predecessor’s legacy, adopting its logo — which proclaimed the Sun "shines for all" — and its elaborate nameplate.

"Yes, Virginia," the Associated Press said of the new newspaper, "there is a New York Sun again."

The new Sun lasted just six, money-losing years in New York’s hypercompetitive media market and published its final issue on Sept. 30, 2008. Thus, "Is There A Santa Claus?" outlived two incarnations of its natal newspaper.

So what explains such longevity? Why is the editorial so endlessly appealing?

Several answers offer themselves.

"Is There A Santa Claus?" lives on because it’s such a rarity — an all-around cheery story, one without villains or sinister forces.

For many adults, the editorial stirs memories of Christmases past, when they, too, were young believers.

The editorial also offers a connection to a time quite different from ours, a time before jet aircraft, television and the Internet. It is somehow reassuring to know that what was engaging in 1897 remains appealing now.

The editorial lives on as a reminder of the lyrical heights that journalism, on occasion, can reach.

Campbell, a Newseum researcher and scholar, discusses the back story of "Is There a Santa Claus" in his book, "The Year That Defined American Journalism: 1897 and the Clash of Paradigms" (Routledge, 2006). Campbell will discuss the editorial on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, at 3 p.m. in the News Corporation News History Gallery on Level 5.

Video Blog: Proclaiming the Five Freedoms

First Amendment Center Vice President and Executive Director Gene Policinski asks Newseum visitors to name the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment.

From the Newseum Collection

Blackbeard’s Last Stand

The Somali pirates who are holding a cargo ship and its crew for ransom off the coast of East Africa should pay heed to the fate of one of the world’s most notorious pirates — Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard.

On March 2, 1719, The Boston News-Letter, the first successful newspaper in the British Colonies, printed a dramatic account of Blackbeard’s bloody death on a sloop off the coast of North Carolina.

[Lieutenant Robert Maynard] and Teach themselves two begun the Fight with their Swords. Maynard making a thrust, the point of his Sword went against Teach’s Cartridge-Box, and bended it to the Hilt. Teach broke the Guard of it, and wounded Maynard’s Fingers but did not disable him, where upon he Jumpt back, threw away his Sword, and fired his Pistol, which wounded Teach. [Abraham] Demelt struck in between them with his Sword and cut Teach’s Face pretty much; in the Interim both Companies ingaged in Maynard’s Sloop. One of Maynard’s Men being a Highlander, ingaged Teach with his broad Sword, who gave Teach a cut on the Neck. Teach saying, well done Lad, the Highlander reply’d, if it be not well done, I’ll do it better. With that he gave him a second stroke, which cut off his Head, laying it flat on his Shoulder. … Teach’s body was thrown overboard, and his Head put on the top of the Bowsprit.

This edition of The Boston News-Letter is currently on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Newseum Celebrates FotoWeek DC

WASHINGTON — Newseum passersby along Pennsylvania Avenue Nov. 15, 2008, were treated to a dazzling slide show of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs during the opening of FotoWeek DC. The photographs were illuminated on the 74-foot-tall stone tablet on the building’s façade that bears the 45 words of the First Amendment.

More info: Get the Picture During FotoWeek DC

45 Years Ago: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 22, 1963, UPI teletype machines in newsrooms across the country suddenly stopped transmitting a story on a Minneapolis murder trial to report breaking news: "Three shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade today in downtown Dallas."

Within minutes, Americans heard the ominous report, first on radio and then television. An hour later, they learned the 35th president of the United States was dead.

To mark the 45th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the Newseum’s newest exhibit looks back at the newspapers, magazines and photographs that reported the tragedy and the stories behind the coverage. The exhibit opens Nov. 18, 2008, in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Journalists didn’t have laptops, digital cameras or cell phones four decades ago. But using typewriters, film and land-line telephones, they reported every breaking development — from Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead, to Love Field, where Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president, to the Texas Theatre, where suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was captured.

Television networks carried nonstop, commercial-free coverage for nearly four days. Two days after the assassination, TV viewers who were tuned to NBC, the only network that carried live coverage of Oswald’s jail transfer, witnessed the first live murder on television when nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot the accused assassin at point-blank range. The following day, more than 93 percent of U.S. TV households watched Kennedy’s funeral.

Also on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery are the original UPI bulletin about the shooting in Dallas, historic newspapers reporting the assassination and scripts and notes from radio reporter Ike Pappas, who witnessed Oswald’s murder while taping an on-the-scene report.

Other stories about the Kennedy assassination in the Newseum include:

• • TV coverage of the assassination, in the Internet, TV and Radio Gallery.
  
  
• • The story behind the award-winning photograph of Oswald’s murder, in the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery.

The Newseum-produced book "President Kennedy Has Been Shot" is available in the Newseum Store or may be ordered online. The book features interviews with journalists who covered the assassination and comes with a CD containing actual vintage news reports, including the live broadcast of Oswald’s murder.

First Dogs: Raising the Woof in the White House

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

Update: The First Dog Debuts

WASHINGTON — If you want a friend in Washington, the old saying goes, get a dog. Since the days of George Washington, most U.S. presidents have.

Hundreds of pets have lived at the White House, including parrots, goats, raccoons and cats. But dogs top the list as the favorite presidential pet.

A new exhibit, "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets," opens Nov. 14, 2008, at the Newseum, showcasing some of the top dogs who have resided at the nation’s most prestigious address.

On display are images of dogs belonging to 22 presidents. Journalists helped turn many of the pets into national celebrities, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, who had his own press secretary, and Warren G. Harding’s Airedale, Laddie Boy, who had his own chair at Cabinet meetings. A book "written" by George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel, Millie, sold more copies than Bush’s own book.

President-elect Barack Obama said he intended to fulfill a very important campaign pledge to his daughters Malia and Sasha — that they would get a dog after the election. Newseum visitors can vote for their choice for the next presidential pooch while viewing the exhibit.

Some highlights of other presidents and their pets include:

• • Abraham Lincoln’s dog Fido was the first presidential pet to be photographed, but it wasn’t a happy occasion. Lincoln was leaving Fido, a mongrel, in Illinois and wanted a memento for his sons before setting out for his 1861 inauguration in Washington.
  
  
• • Calvin and Grace Coolidge maintained a menagerie during his 1920s presidency, including 12 dogs and a pair of raccoons. On display is a photograph of their white collie Prudence Prim showing off her Easter bonnet for Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon.
  
  
• • Herbert Hoover won fans, and possibly his 1928 election, by posing with his police dog, King Tut, for campaign photos. He and his wife, Lou, kept nine dogs at the White House, including their Norwegian elkhound, Weegie.
  
  
• • John F. Kennedy was allergic to dogs. Even so, the Kennedys had nine, including Clipper, Charlie, Wolf, Shannon and the mixed breed Pushinka, a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
  
  
• • In April 1964, dog lovers protested after seeing front-page photos of Lyndon B. Johnson lifting his beagles, Him and Her, by the ears. Insisting to reporters that the dogs didn’t mind, Johnson demonstrated the move again days later.
  
  
• • Forced to account for $18,000 in questionable gifts during the 1952 election, Republican vice presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon insisted to a television audience that the only gift he received was for his children — a cocker spaniel named Checkers. He won voters’ sympathies when he explained, "The kids love the dog … and we’re going to keep it."
  
  
• • Gerald R. Ford’s photographer, David Hume Kennerly, was looking for a golden retriever for his boss in 1974 but didn’t want to reveal who the owner would be. "Do they own or rent?" the breeder asked. "I guess you could say they live in public housing," Kennerly deadpanned. Ford named the dog Liberty.
  
  
• • George W. Bush joked that his Scottish terrier, Barney, was the son he never had. Bush’s "Barney Cam" videos, showing life at the White House from the dog’s view, were an Internet sensation. Barney made news again in November 2008 when he bit a reporter who tried to pet him.

Note: "First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets" is scheduled to remain on display at the Newseum through May 2009.

This exhibit is supported by a gift to the Newseum from PEDIGREE®, a brand of Mars, Inc.

Extra! Extra! Newspaper Souvenirs Beat Web By a Landslide

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Who said newspapers were dead?

In the aftermath of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic election, hundreds of people from coast to coast lined up to snap up extra and commemorative newspaper souvenirs marking the event. In many cases, demand was unprecedented.

USA Today sold an extra 380,000 copies and sold more online. The Washington Post has printed a total of 1,050,000 "Commemorative Election" editions since November 5. The Chicago Tribune "printed more than 1.1 million copies of the November 5 edition, about 410,000 more than we normally print," the paper’s communications manager said. The Los Angeles Times printed 200,000 extra copies and "expect that number to increase," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had to reprint five times for a total of 248,000 extra newspapers.

What drives people to seek out newspaper mementos of events like Obama’s election? The answer lies in the newspaper itself — hard, tangible proof of a significant occurrence that can be touched, held and saved for future generations. As a reader explained in the Washington Post: "You can’t show your children your BlackBerry or your computer screen."

The Newseum’s daily display of newspaper front pages from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and countries around the world attracted a steady flow of tourists and news crews the day after the election outside the building on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Newseum’s Web site saw an 800 percent jump in the number of views to the Front Pages section. Commemorative posters of the front pages will soon be available online and in the Newseum store.

At a time when news publications are cutting their losses and moving exclusively to the Web, Obama’s unparalleled election proves that when it comes to preserving memories, high tech takes a back seat to good old-fashioned paper.

A look through the Newseum’s archive of historic front pages provides a close-up look at some of the past key events that merited extra editions.

• • The Maryland Gazette gave readers something extra on Sept. 22, 1787: a special printing of the U.S. Constitution. The two-sided broadsheet was labeled "Extraordinary," likely the word from which the newspaper expression "extra" was derived.
  
  
• • The London Gazette’s "extraordinary" in June 1815 carried Wellington’s report of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. The French Suplement Extraordinaire Du Moniteur, published a day before the Gazette, described Napoleon’s movements before the decisive battle.
  
  
• • In January 1840, the luxury steamer Lexington burned and sank off Long Island. Nearly 150 passengers and crew died. The New York Sun published "extra" editions with illustrations, some hand-colored, others lithographed in black-and-white by Nathaniel Currier.
  
  
• • South Carolina’s secession from the Union in December 1860 was heralded in a broadside extra edition of the Charleston Mercury. Less than four months later, the Mercury published another extra, reporting the opening shots of the Civil War — the attack on Fort Sumter.
  
  
• • Within 90 minutes after President Abraham Lincoln died from an assassin’s bullet on April 14, 1865, The New York Herald published an extra with the dreadful news. The paper also carried reports from earlier editions detailing the attacks on Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward.
  
  
• • Joe Louis’s first-round knockout of Max Schmeling in 1938 prompted a "Fight Extra" from Boston’s Daily Record. The rematch between American Louis and German Schmeling held worldwide interest. "We need muscles like yours to beat Germany," President Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly told Louis before the fight.
  
  
• • An hour after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin published a "1st Extra" edition. The issue contained a preliminary list of the dead and injured, information on school closings and an editorial about how Hawaii will meet the "crisis."
  
  
• • Elvis Presley, the "king of rock ’n’ roll," died on Aug. 16, 1977, at his Memphis mansion. Swamped with requests for extra copies of their Aug. 17 issues, the Memphis Press-Scimitar and The Commercial Appeal jointly published a special "Elvis Presley Edition" a week later.
  
  
• • The Los Angeles Times published an extra edition on Oct. 3, 1995, when a California jury acquitted former football star O.J. Simpson in the murders of his former wife and a male friend of hers. Simpson’s trial attracted a swarm of news media from around the world.

These front pages and other headlines of history have a remarkable shelf life and are on display in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery.

Related topic: Tips on preserving newspaper souvenirs.

History Lesson

WASHINGTON — The Newseum’s daily exhibit of newspaper front pages was a popular post-election attraction for tourists and international news organizations seeking more news about President-elect Barack Obama’s historic victory on November 4.

Every morning, more than 600 newspapers from every U.S. state and from countries around the world submit their front pages to the Newseum via the Internet to be part of the Today's Front Pages exhibit. Fifty-two of the front pages are displayed in cases in front of the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. Eighty are displayed inside in the Today’s Front Pages Gallery on Level 6.

The full selection of front pages is available on newseum.org each day by 8:30 a.m. To see the Nov, 5, 2008, front pages from the United States and around the world, click here.

Video: Change Has Come

Front Pages Archive: Obama Makes History, Nov. 5, 2008

Change Has Come

National and international front pages trumpeted Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president of the United States. See some of the headlines that brought the historic news to people around the world.

Slideshow: History Lesson

Front Pages Archive: Obama Makes History, Nov. 5, 2008

From AARP Bulletin Today: Americans tell AARP Bulletin what issues President-elect Barack Obama should tackle in his first 100 days.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

America Votes for Change

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Some pols and pundits predicted a landslide, but the headlines on the world’s front pages reflected the themes, slogans and ubiquitous logo of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign.

• • "Yes We Can." (The Record of Stockton, Calif.)
• • "Change Comes to America." (Canada’s The Hamilton Spectator)
• • "Change of Course." (Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald)
• • "Face of Change." (Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald)
• • "A New Hope." (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Many newspapers — particularly in the South — chose poignant civil rights themes to describe Obama’s unprecedented feat.

• • "In Our Lifetime," declared The Anniston (Ala.) Star.
• • "Obama Overcomes," said The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News.
• • "Race is History," The Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise offered.
• • "Obama Reaches The Mountaintop," said The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

But for the majority of newspapers, the president-elect’s last name and new title were enough to tell the story.

• • "Obama!" (The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa.)
• • "Oh-Bama! (The Orange County (Calif.) Register
• • "Mr. President." (The Chicago Sun-Times)
• • "It’s Obama." (La Tribune of Paris, France)

Finally, for every victory, there is a defeat. The Arizona Republic summed up Sen. John McCain’s poignant concession speech. "Arizonan McCain gracious in defeat; calls for unity," the paper said.

Video: Change Has Come

Slideshow: History Lesson

Front Pages Archive: Obama Makes History, Nov. 5, 2008

From the Newseum Collection

South African Ballot Box; Florida Voting Machine

Free elections, like a free press, do not exist in many parts of the world. As voters across the United States prepare to elect a new president in what is expected to be heavy voter turnout in the historic 2008 presidential election, they will cast their votes using high-tech electronic machines and old-fashioned paper ballots.

Two treasures from the Newseum collection provide different tales of Election Day around the globe.

Few images better captured political change in Africa than news photographs of South Africans waiting in long lines to vote in 1994 — the first time in the country’s history that the black majority had been allowed to vote. More than 85 percent of South Africa’s eligible voters placed ballots. The landmark elections officially dismantled South Africa’s system of racial separation, known as apartheid, and delivered once-imprisoned Nelson Mandela to the presidency. This ballot box, a gift to the Newseum from South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission, was used near Pretoria. It is on display in the Time Warner World News Gallery.

In the race for the White House in 2000, voting machines and ballots in Florida were almost as big a story as the presidential election, spawning charges that votes mistakenly had gone to the wrong candidate. Many news organizations launched investigations of those complaints. Several voting machines were retired after the 2000 election because of issues with their accuracy and the infamous “hanging chads.” This voting machine from Palm Beach County, Fla., was purchased by the Newseum. It — along with the late Tim Russert’s eraser board — is on display in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

A portion of a Votomatic voting booth that was used in Broward County, Fla., in the 2000 presidential election is located in the Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery. It was a gift of Frances Klein and the League of Women Voters of Broward County.

Get the Picture During FotoWeek DC

WASHINGTON — FotoWeek DC, the first annual gathering of professional photographers and photography enthusiasts who celebrate the medium of photography, will team up with several museums in the nation’s capital to create an unprecedented, world premiere digital slide show. The Newseum is one of several sponsors of the weeklong event.

During the festival — November 13–22, 2008, — visitors will see a dazzling display of large-scale projections of photographs selected from the collections of some of Washington’s most honored institutions. These multistory projections will create the largest HD slide show to date and exhibit some of the world’s most compelling photographic images. The projections begin at dusk and are free and open to the public.

The Newseum’s slide show begins November 15 at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. November 16. The slide show will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs illuminated on the 74-foot tall stone tablet on the façade of the building that bears the 45 words of the First Amendment.

Other Newseum events honoring FotoWeek DC include:

November 16: "Inside Media" program
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Ken Geiger will discuss his photo of the Nigerian relay team celebrating at the 1992 Olympics.

November 22: "Inside Media" program
A panel of five Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post photographers will discuss the rewards and challenges of their work.

The 250,000-square-foot Newseum, the world’s most interactive museum, includes 15 theaters and 14 major galleries on seven levels. The Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery features the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever assembled.

Plan your Newseum visit and buy your tickets now. Admission is free for annual members.

For more information on FotoWeek DC, please visit www.fotoweekdc.org.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

A future for front page? It’s all in the magic

By Kate Kennedy

Each day, streams of people pause along Pennsylvania Avenue to gaze at newspaper front pages displayed outside the Newseum.

They read. They laugh; they frown. They nod in agreement; they shake their heads in disbelief. They share; they connect.

But mostly, they linger.

Circulation is declining, and free content on the Internet is booming. But yet, few things can be as personal as a newspaper front page. “Where’s my page?” we’re often asked.

Sometimes the front page is predictable. Often it’s overly gloomy. And in too many cases, it’s inconsistent.

But every day it has an opportunity to touch people by:

Sharing what people are talking about: “They never thought they’d see the day,” the Detroit Free Press said today about African-Americans’ feelings about Barack Obama’s run for the White House. And the Los Angeles Times looks at “One more role for the cellphone: matchmaker.”

Seeing the big picture: With its state in an economic crisis and its governor in a scandal, the Las Vegas Sun examined the state of the state: “Nevada Turns 144, But What’s To Celebrate?” But not forgetting important details: The San Francisco Chronicle pursued police documents that showed “Missed opportunities hours before slaying” of the editor of the Oakland Post.

Looking beyond the headlines: In a different kind of election story, The Denver Post reported on “A risky conversation.” Said the Post: “Politics naturally divides people, but this election cycle has highlighted the divide. Now, simply talking about the presidential candidates seems like a wedge issue.”

Providing news that readers can’t get anywhere else: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., noted that late Wednesday night its city matched its record for the number of homicides in a year. And owning what they know: “Shuttle set for Nov. 14 liftoff,” said Florida Today in Melbourne, which swamps the space beat.

Writing good headlines: “We Shopped Till We Dropped,” the Star Tribune of Minneapolis said in summarizing GDP data. “Plumb Job,” said the New York Post with a photo of Joe the Plumber on the campaign trail. And in writing a label headline that actually works, the Houston Chronicle described the path of a high school football team: “From Cream Puff to Cinderella.”

Presenting good stories and images: In an eye-catching “To Catch a Cyber-Thief” presentation, the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton, Wash., said: “A Bainbridge Island couple recovered a stolen $2,700 bicycle through sting tactics — online and with police.”

Taking a different look: Halloween stories are everywhere today, but The Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wis., breathed new life into a stale story with Rob Kaiser’s “Houdini works his magic” column about “Legendary artist offers lesson on escaping troubles.” Harry Houdini, who lived in Appleton, died on Halloween 1926.

What will the future hold for the front page? Will it escape its troubles? To editors, I’d say: Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, but don’t stop thinking about print.

Make me laugh. Make me cry. Move me to share my opinion. Move me to take action. Make me want to pick up tomorrow’s front page.

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

World champs, not worldwide coverage

By Bridget Gutierrez

Newspaper editors in the mid-Atlantic region had a field day with their front pages after the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, last night to win baseball’s World Series.

Devoting its cover to a staff photograph of the closing pitcher and catcher in an exuberant bear hug, the Philadelphia Daily News exclaimed: “FROM CURSED TO FIRST … SEND IN THE CROWN!”

The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and the Burlington County Times in Willingboro, N.J., dedicated the entire page to the event. The layout was different, the headline the same: “Phinally!” (Props to The Morning Call for using the team’s signature script.)

“WORLD CHAMPS!” declared The Philadelphia Inquirer, which gave the top two-thirds of Page One to the victory and one spectacular photograph capturing pitcher Brad Lidge’s and catcher Carlos Ruiz’s joy at winning. The subhead: “28 years later, Phillies again are baseball’s best.”

Nearby, the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J., announced: “WE DID IT!” — saving the particulars for six pages of game coverage inside.

The Press in Atlantic City, N.J., The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., and The Times-Tribune in Scranton, Pa., made the news their daily centerpiece. The Press incorporated a story and photo of celebrating fans, who apparently braved the cold and riots — yikes! — outside the ballpark. The News Journal smartly included a celebratory photograph from the Phillies’ last World Series win in 1980. It’s been a long time, boys.

Of course, there’s another side to the story. Interestingly, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune and competitor St. Petersburg Times provided similar coverage of their team’s loss by pairing a single front-page photograph and sports column.

“MAGIC ENDS,” reads the Times headline about the amazing worst-to-first team. “Rays’ miracle season is now just great memories.” Not to mention a few front pages.

Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.

Sweep! Landslide! Victory! In Other Words, a Presidential Win

By Kate Kennedy, Newseum front pages editor

Many have been landslides; others have been nail-biters. But whatever the outcome, the presidential election generates a winner every four years.

From Dwight D. Eisenhower’s "Smashing Landslide Victory" to Harry S. Truman’s "Startling Victory," newspaper front pages have been there to report Election Day results.

Sometimes it was a win. "Carter Wins" was The Atlanta Journal headline in 1976 about President-elect Jimmy Carter. It was "A Solid Win" in 1988 for George H.W. Bush. In 1992, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette banner headline declared of native son Bill Clinton, "Clinton Wins."

Other times, success resulted from something more than a win: a "Great Popular Vote" (William Howard Taft in 1908), a "Tremendous Victory" (Theodore Roosevelt in 1904) and a "Tremendous Surge of Ballots" (Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952).

Occasionally, saying it was a "win" just wasn’t enough. "Lyndon’s Popular Vote Margin Near 15 Million," The Austin (Texas) Statesman reported about Johnson in 1964. Warren G. Harding was "Elected by Overwhelming Pluralities," said The Star and Sentinel of Gettysburg, Pa.

The win often came in a sweep. "A Clean Sweep!" proclaimed the Chester County (Pa.) Times when Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860. "Roosevelt Sweeps the Nation," The New York Times said in a banner headline in 1936 about Franklin D. Roosevelt. Four years later, "Roosevelt Sweeps 39 States," The Charlotte (N.C.) News said.

And often the win was a landslide. "Great Landslide for Gov. Woodrow Wilson," the Red Wing (Minn.) Morning Republican declared in 1912. "Coolidge Wins by a Landslide," the Baltimore American said in 1924 about Calvin Coolidge, who succeeded to the presidency after the death of Warren G. Harding. "Landslide for Reagan," the Los Angeles Times blared in 1980 about Ronald Reagan’s sweeping victory.

And when "win" and "victory" didn’t seem to capture the moment, headline writers used other words. "Glory Hallilujah!" The Helena (Mont.) Daily Herald proclaimed over Ulysses S. Grant’s "Triumph" in 1872.

But for every winner, there was a loser. In 1904, the New York Tribune printed a one-sentence "I congratulate you" telegram to Theodore Roosevelt from opponent Alton Parker. In 1940, a secondary headline about Republican challenger Wendell Willkie reported that "Willkie Accepts Defeat Gracefully." "Ford Vows His Support in Conceding," The Atlanta Journal said of President Gerald R. Ford in 1976.

At the bottom of the 1968 Washington Post that declared Richard Nixon’s win was a declaration by challenger Hubert H. Humphrey, "I Have Done My Best."

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Reporting on the Dow: Does what goes up must come down?

By Kate Kennedy

Is the glass half full or half empty?

Newspaper front pages couldn’t decide today as they reported on a rally that added 889 points to the Dow.

“Optimism sends stock soaring,” the San Francisco Chronicle said across its front page. “Dow takes stunning jump — 2nd-best ever,” The Denver Post said.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., charted the upturn inside its nameplate. The Boston Globe explained how it happened: “Bargain hunters pounce amid signs of credit thaw.”

Like many, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel charted the stock market’s gain. But it said: “Dow soars — but hold applause.” Explained The Gazette of Colorado Spring, Colo.: “Soaring Dow is Simply Another Day of Volatility.”

Indeed, The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., said, “Rocketing Dow fails to spread much joy.” “Wall Street on edge despite Dow’s surge,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted.

The Wall Street Journal charted “Mixed Signals” — the Dow rebound and a decline in consumer confidence. The Indianapolis Star gave the stock market an up arrow but used a down arrow to describe consumers’ mood.

The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star was one newspaper that was both optimistic and pessimistic: “Stocks surge 889 points,” the lead headline said. “But analysts don’t expect rally to last in this volatile market.”

In advance of today’s expected cut in the interest rate by the Fed, The Miami Herald said: “Cut in rate to take aim at pessimism.”

Today’s campaign news: The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader described a “A whinnying ticket.” Horse owners through the thoroughbred registry, it reports, are reserving such names as “Joe the Plumber” and “First Dude.”

Speaking of Joe, he’s on the campaign trail, reports The Cincinnati Enquirer, which printed a photo of Joe Wurzelbacher stumping for the McCain-Palin ticket in southwest Ohio.

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Some dailies play up Stevens’ conviction; others put story inside

By Gene Mater

It took a federal jury to do it but the newspaper of record — The New York Times — and the major daily in the nation’s capital — The Washington Post — agree that the conviction of Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska tops the economy and the election as THE story of the day.

“Stevens found guilty on 7 counts,” reports the Post, and “Senator is guilty over his failures to disclose gifts,” reports the Times in their lead stories this morning. The smaller capital daily, The Washington Times, banners “Stevens guilty on all 7 counts.”

In Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News has a two-line banner head reading “Stevens guilty on all counts: ‘It’s not over yet,’ he says.”

For the rest of the nation’s dailies, there was varied coverage of the verdict in the trial of the Senate’s longest-serving Republican. Stevens is the fifth U.S. senator ever convicted of a crime, and his name is on next Tuesday’s ballot. The Philadelphia Inquirer leads with a one-column headline “Alaska’s Stevens is found guilty,” while The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., West Hawaii Today in Kailua Kona, and The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., all felt the story worth top-of-Page-One play. Then the story fades away from some Page One stories to teases to nothing.

The Los Angeles Times has an above-the-fold picture and story that “Corruption conviction doesn’t daunt Stevens,” the Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune has the story at the bottom of the page, as do the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Gazette-Times in Corvallis, Ore., the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune, The Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Detroit News and The Denver Post.

Then there were dailies that teased an inside story about Stevens, starting with our friends at The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, with photo and tease next to the masthead, as high up as possible without going off Page One. The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., runs a tease and photo at the bottom of the page, The Boston Globe does it at the top of column one, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald do it in the middle of that column, while The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., teases at the top of the page next to the lead story.

The longest list would be of the U.S. dailies carrying nothing about Stevens on Page One. At least we didn’t see any maps showing where to find Alaska.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Record-setting Family Day at the Newseum

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, the Newseum explored the press and the presidency during an all-day, fun-filled "Family Day" that offered something for everyone.

Photo Slideshow: Obama Wins in Newseum Mock Election

The Power of Radio: Is Hearing Believing?

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

On Halloween eve in 1938, the power of radio was on full display when a dramatization of the science-fiction novel "The War of the Worlds" scared the daylights out of many of CBS radio’s nighttime listeners.

Listen to MP3 Audio:

• Oct. 30, 1938, War of the Worlds Broadcast (CBS Radio - 0:55:52)

Portions of the program — produced by Orson Welles and performed by him and other cast members of "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" — were written to sound like news bulletins. And though CBS announced four times during the broadcast that it was a dramatization, the bulletins sounded so authentic that thousands of panicked listeners believed Martians had landed in New Jersey and were invading Earth. Many took to the streets to flee the attack from Mars. Curiosity-seekers in central New Jersey headed for Grovers Mill, the presumed site of the Martian landing.

Ninety-two radio stations aired the drama. When it ended, most of them, as well as newspapers and police departments across the country, were swamped with callers seeking clarification and demanding to know if the world was coming to an end.

"Officials of the electric company received scores of calls urging them to turn off all lights so that the city would be safe from the enemy," The Knoxville Journal reported the next day.

"Women Weep, Men Desert Their Homes," a Des Moines Register headline proclaimed. "Mass hysteria mounted so high in some cases that persons told police and newspapers they ‘saw’ the invasion," the Register reported.

CBS and Welles were roundly criticized. Hundreds of letters and telegrams were sent to the four-year-old Federal Communications Commission.

"Radio ‘War’ Panic Brings Inquiry; U.S. to Scan Broadcast Script," the New York Post said in a banner headline. The Post quoted FCC chairman Frank R. McNinch’s intention to launch an investigation.

"The widespread public reaction to this broadcast as indicated by the press is another demonstration of the power and force of radio, and points out again the serious public responsibility of those who are licensed to operate stations," McNinch said.

In studies and surveys conducted weeks after the broadcast, some listeners cited the authenticity of the news bulletins as the reason for their fear. But the broadcast did not frighten everyone. About 40 percent of the letters sent to the FCC, and 90 percent of those sent to the Mercury Theatre, were positive.

"I was one of the thousands who heard this program and did not jump out of the window, did not attempt suicide … but sat serenely entertained no end by the fine portrayal of a fine play," wrote a listener from South Dakota.

In the months following the broadcast, "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" became "The Campbell Playhouse," thanks to the corporate sponsorship of the Campbell Soup Company. Welles went to RKO Pictures, where he later directed and starred in "Citizen Kane," the critically acclaimed film inspired by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst.

The story of the "War of the Worlds" broadcast is told in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Obama Wins in Newseum Mock Election

WASHINGTON — If kids could vote, Sen. Barack Obama would be their choice for president.

The Democratic nominee received 73 percent of the vote over Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, in a kids-only mock election that was held Oct. 25, 2008, at the Newseum.

Nearly 4,000 visitors took part in all-day Family Day events that explored the press and the presidency.

In addition to the mock election, visitors participated in a scavenger hunt, created their own campaign bumper stickers and buttons, listened to presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, and watched award-winning Economist editorial cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher draw political figures.

To plan a visit to the Newseum, click here. Admission is free for annual members.

Video: Record-setting Family Day at the Newseum

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Middle East squeezed off Page One by politics, economic mess, sports

By Gene Mater

Have you noticed that the upcoming election, the world economic situation and the World Series and other sporting activities have pretty much squeezed U.S. involvement in the Middle East off Page One? Three Middle East stories broke during the weekend that may have missed the front page of your local newspaper.

“U.S. launches rare attack inside Syria” is the headline on the lead story of The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia, ”US special forces hit Syria” is squared off at the top of American Press in Lake Charles, La., and “U.S. raid kills eight in Syrian territory,” Cape Cod Times in Hyannis, Mass., tells its readers. The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y., combines the headlines of the first two dailies with “U.S. kills eight in rare attack inside Syria,” while the Los Angeles Times suggests that “U.S. raid in Syria raises tensions.”

The story is at the bottom of Page One of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer and The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah. It leads The Birmingham News in Alabama and is the tease for “Today’s Quick Read” in the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record and is teased in the Chicago Tribune.

Then there is the U.S. threat to Iraq to make a deal or, as The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., puts it in the lead story “U.S. vows to cut off Iraq if no new deal.” The Idaho Statesman in Boise squares off “U.S, gives ‘shocking’ threat to Iraq,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gives similar play to the story with “U.S. warns Iraq on deal” and The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash., reports, “U.S. threatens Iraq with withdrawal.”

Finally, the third story. The biggest daily in this country — USA Today — leads with unhappy news for the troops abroad and their families — “Extended war tours likely to continue” through 2009 in spite of pledges made earlier. The story was picked up here and there. Indeed, out in Iowa, the Iowa City Press-Citizen plays up the story with the same headline noted for USA Today.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Former Fed chairman takes his lumps on front pages

By John Maynard

A close-up picture of a dour-looking Alan Greenspan sporting a severe hangdog expression is the lead photo on many of today's front pages this morning.

And you wonder why people aren't buying newspapers.

The former Federal Reserve chairman appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill yesterday and was at the receiving end of criticism from some members of Congress who blamed his economic policies for the financial mess we are in today.

"Alan Greenspan — Called on the Carpet," is the headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featuring not one, not two, but thee closeups of Greenspan, looking more and more miserable as the photos progress.

The Dallas Morning News went one way with its assessment: "'I made a mistake,' Greenspan admits," while The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash., opted for a different interpretation: "Greenspan: Don't blame me for mess."

The Lima (Ohio) News, which goes with a photo that can only be described as an extreme close-up, sums it up in more neutral terms. "Flaw in the model," the headline says in reference to Greenspan's admission that mistakes were made during his 18 years of service.

Meanwhile, some papers are looking at presidential polls in their states. Barack Obama may have the lead in many places, including key battleground states, but don't tell that to the folks in Kentucky or Arkansas. "McCain's lead in state is safe," blares the Lexington Herald-Leader. The Morning News in Fayetteville, Ark., also shows John McCain leading Obama in a story under the headline "Poll Gives State Pulse."

But it's too close to call in Montana according to the Great Falls Tribune, which asks "Montana: Red or Blue?"

In Connecticut, the New Haven Register cautions against poll-watching under the banner headline "Polls Apart" with an AP story looking at dueling results of recent major polls.

John Maynard is a Newseum exhibits writer.

Mistakes Are Made During Close Campaigns

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

As this historic presidential campaign comes to a close and the nation awaits the election of its next commander in chief, members of the media should bear in mind three infamous words in their haste to predict the winner: "Dewey Defeats Truman."

Probably the best-known error in presidential election coverage was made 60 years ago at the Chicago Daily Tribune, which declared Thomas Dewey the victor over President Harry S. Truman. Pollsters predicted that Dewey would defeat Truman in the 1948 election. The reliance on those predictions by a few deadline-pressed Tribune editors — combined with slow election returns, tight deadlines and a staff strike — produced the paper’s most famous embarrassment. Overshadowed by the headline was another error on the same page: Part of the top story’s second paragraph was printed upside down.

The newspaper and a video on media mistakes can be seen in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Wanting to be first with breaking news is nothing new: Beating the competition is a matter of pride for news professionals. A look through the Newseum’s collection of historic newspapers reveals that while the Tribune’s mistake may have been the most famous error, it certainly wasn’t the first.

In 1916, the Cleveland Plain Dealer declared Charles Evans Hughes the winner in its front-page banner headline. But the final tally showed different results: Incumbent President Woodrow Wilson had won.

As recently as the 2004 presidential election, the New York Post went out on a limb and declared Rep. Dick Gephardt the vice presidential running mate of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. "Kerry’s Choice: Dem Picks Gephardt as VP Candidate," the headline declared. Sen. John Edwards turned out to be Kerry’s choice. The Post corrected itself with a revision: "Kerry’s Choice: Dem Picks Edwards as VP Candidate (Really)."

In the 2000 presidential election, considered the most controversial in political history, the intense competition to be first, coupled with unreliable polling data, a razor-close election and 24-hour news coverage, led to confusion and conflicting broadcasts about the results. Broadcasters initially said Democratic nominee Al Gore had won the key state of Florida. Then they backtracked and said Republican nominee George W. Bush had won the state. In the end, it was clear that the rush to be first was in large part responsible for the blunders. Editors at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida went through several headlines before finally settling on "Contested."

After a contentious recount that involved a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court to end it, Bush was declared the victor. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

There’s Page One news besides the economy and the election

By Gene Mater

They did it again. They being the stock markets; again being yesterday’s precipitous drop. We decided to look for non-economic and non-election stories this morning, stories such as “1st snowfall brings 6 inches to The County” that tops Page One for the Bangor Daily News up in Maine, our friends at The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, playing up the fifth anniversary of the Dodge Arena with a story, photos and numbers, even as The Tampa Tribune in Florida whoops up “The World’s Stage” and the World Series game at Tropicana Field.

The Honolulu Advertiser tells its readers that “Traffic better, but still worst in nation,” while The Times in Munster, Ind., reports that a voter-registration drive (there’s the election story) is one of the “Worst in the nation” and the Chicago Tribune dug out its second-coming type for the number 13%, adding that “The governor’s approval rating among Illinois voters is even lower than Bush’s.” The Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota uses much of Page One to report about “Our bridge to nowhere,” with a story noting the county “spent $48,000 to restore a bridge, then placed it over a storm water pond.” The Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc, Wis., reports on “WWII through one man’s eyes,” thereby localizing the last good war, while The San Diego Union-Tribune does the same about the suicide bomber who killed more than 200 in “Beirut blast still resounds” and the Leader-Telegram in Eau Claire, Wis., reports about a local National Guard unit “Reporting for duty.” The Idaho Statesman in Boise plays up the “Results of the Idaho Outdoors/Idaho Camera photo contest,” complete with a pleasant picture on Page One, while The Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va., reports with story and photos about “Mom makes human a shield at bus stop” because “some folks aren’t stopping” when school buses flash their red lights.

We’ll mention only one first page about the economy. It’s the Chicago Sun-Times reporting “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry,” reporting the good news about gas prices dropping and the bad news about “Financial markets predicting the worst of all worlds.” That leads us to our first prize for today’s Page One. India has just sent a rocket to the moon. The banner headline in The Telegraph in Calcutta says it all: “TO MOON: Right now, it looks a better place than our Earth.”

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

More than election news in your local newspaper

By Gene Mater

Watch television and the upcoming election seems to be the big story that we all care about. Not so. Indeed, we started the day skipping through the European dailies, but we found precious little U.S. election coverage. Jurnal de Caras-Severin in colorful Resita, Romania, has a small picture of John McCain, but it’s only to tease a story on Page 2. Our friends at SME in Bratislava, Slovakia, have a large Page One photo of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But that’s about it for Europe, so we turned to U.S. coverage.

The Anniston Star in Alabama plays up “Area gas prices finally return to lower levels,” and the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska squares off at the top of Page One the trial of the senior U.S. senator, wondering “Which Stevens will jury judge?” The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson grumbles that “we’re all paying more” in taxes, while The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs, Ark., gives major play, with photo, to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra playing for students. The Sun in San Bernardino, Calif., leads with plans for a new 12-story court building, the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport whoops up the tried-and-true picture of “Elephants on parade” and the circus coming to town, and Florida Today in Melbourne puts possible re-starting of the Hubble telescope in space at the top of the page and the birth of twin jaguars at the bottom. The South Bend Tribune in Indiana uses the top of its Page One to ask whether “Consumers addicted to plastic?” — credit cards, that is.

The Iowa City (Iowa) Press-Citizen has a colorful “Colors of fall” Page One reporting on leaf-turning time, The Kentucky Enquirer in Fort Mitchell warns that “Some firms refusing to hire smokers,” the Times Herald in Port Huron, Mich., confirms to its readers what they probably know, that “Roads make ‘worst’ list,” and the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., uses most of Page One for a picture and a story about “SUV stolen, abandoned with 3-year-old inside.”

Finally, two dailies play up local library censorship problems. The Gazette-Times in Corvallis, Ore., tells its readers that “Library items raise eyebrows,” warning that “Not even Muppets safe from patron complaints,” while the Independent Record in Helena, Mont., reports “Library board votes to keep controversial book on hand,” and the book is The Joy of Gay Sex.

If you’re looking for an escape from all the election coverage, read your local newspaper.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Form media consultant.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Two weeks and counting: Crisscrossing contested states

By Kate Kennedy

With two weeks to go until the presidential election, pivotal states are getting additional attention from the campaigns. And the campaigning is drawing the attention of the front page.

Colorado: Sarah Palin campaigned in the state Monday and labeled “Obama a socialist,” the Fort Collins Coloradoan said. The Rocky Mountain News, which is not endorsing a candidate for president, pictured the vice presidential candidate and said, “Fight to the finish.”

Florida: The South Florida Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale mapped the travels of the candidates and their surrogates in the Sunshine State: “For now, they all just love Florida.” Hillary Clinton appeared with Barack Obama, who called for “’Jobs, Baby, Jobs,’” said the Orlando Sentinel, which has endorsed Obama. The Tampa Tribune, which endorsed John McCain, pictured Obama with members of the Tampa Bay Rays, who introduced him at a rally.

Missouri: “Vote seekers blitz tossed-up state,” said the Springfield News-Leader, which is endorsing state and local candidates but not a candidate in the presidential race. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called it “Marching Across Missouri” and noted that McCain was Monday’s visitor. It has endorsed Obama.

Pennsylvania: “McCain is pulling out all the stops in Pa.,” said The Philadelphia Inquirer, which has endorsed Obama. But the bigger focus in some places is the World Series-bound Phillies.

Meanwhile, The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Obama is returning to Hawaii Thursday to visit his grandmother, who is ill.

Early voting got under way in many places. “First day totals for early voting reach new heights across area,” said the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, which has endorsed Obama. “Early voting center opens in Fargo/Auditor predicts more than 4,000 to use site during the next 2 weeks,” said The Forum, which endorsed McCain.

The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk noted heightened emotions about the election and reported, “Some cities to tighten Election Day security.”

Wasted in Wisconsin: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is examining alcohol use in the Badger State in a five-part series that includes 72 profiles of victims of drunken driving. Today’s package outlined the tab for one drunken driver’s 10 offenses. The newspaper’s Web site includes an interactive graphic and a chat about the state’s drinking culture.

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Old School Meets New Media in 2008 Presidential Campaign

By Emily Hedges and John Maynard, Newseum exhibit writers

Traditional media is taking a back seat to new media in this presidential election season. Campaign news is delivered almost as it happens to Web sites via online reporters, bloggers, text and Twitter messages, and YouTube videos.

News from the campaign trail goes "viral," spreading quickly via the Web, which can be both good and bad for the candidates.

Mayhill Fowler, whose "citizen-powered," "Off the Bus" blog on "The Huffington Post" Web site, broke two stories that negatively affected two campaigns.

She captured Democratic nominee Barack Obama on tape saying that some "bitter" working-class voters "cling to guns or religion." She also taped Bill Clinton crudely insulting a reporter, sparking a backlash against Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

But candidates also use the Web to get their messages out to the public unfiltered by the media.

Nearly all of the candidates used Web sites and social networking sites such as MySpace and YouTube to talk directly to voters. In a presidential campaign first, Obama’s campaign sent out a 26-word text message announcing Sen. Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential pick.

Digital campaign methods cover more miles, reach more people and can have a more immediate impact than any national convention or TV news report ever could. The downside: The unfiltered approach bypasses the rigorous analysis and fact checking performed by traditional news outlets.

"Old school" news outlets are adopting new media approaches. CBS News anchor Katie Couric has a YouTube channel to post videos of her campaign coverage in hopes of luring younger viewers. More than 6 million people watched Couric’s much-discussed interviews with vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin via YouTube.

Other videos on YouTube had a big impact, including Obama’s former pastor making controversial comments on race and politics.

Sometimes the blogosphere pushes news into the mainstream. Internet rumors forced the McCain campaign to announce that the teenage daughter of Gov. Palin was pregnant, propelling the story onto front pages and broadcast news.

"We’re in a very different place than we were in 2004," said Ariana Huffington, editor in-chief of "The Huffington Post." "No longer is it bloggers vs. old media; it’s much more of a convergence."

A new exhibit on the digital campaign of 2008 can be found in the Newseum’s Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Football, politics, baseball compete for headlines

By Hicks Wogan

Whatever other news is breaking, on Mondays in the fall you can expect front pages across the country to tackle pro football. Yesterday the National Football League played 13 headline-grabbing games.

In St. Louis the Dallas Cowboys played without their starting quarterback, Tony Romo, and, man, did they look lost. The Rams battered them 34-14, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch heralded the win with the headline, “Suddenly Potent Rams Stun Cowboys.” The Dallas Morning News sang of “St. Louis Blues.”

The Carolina Panthers shredded the New Orleans Saints, 30-7, and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer boasts with a front-page banner that plays on a New Orleans nickname: “Big Easy Win.”

In Chicago the hometown Bears outgunned the Minnesota Vikings, 48-41. “O” is for Offense and this morning, on the cover of a 12-page “Bears Extra” section, the Chicago Sun-Times exclaims, “‘O’ My!” Da Bears intercepted Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte four times, and the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune announces above its nameplate that “Vikings Crumble.”

“Chargers Short-Circuited in Buffalo,” reads The San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune after the local team lost to the Bills. With the 23-14 win, Buffalo improved its record to 5-1.

The NFL’s only undefeated team, the Tennessee Titans, rushed for a franchise-record 332 yards on Sunday and destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs, 48-10. “Mighty Titans stay perfect,” notes The Tennessean of Nashville. The team moved to 6-0.

Oakland Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski bombed a 57-yard field goal to beat the New York Jets in overtime. Across the Bay, the San Francisco Chronicle has a clever headline: “Raiders Give Jets the Boot.” But not so sure-footed were the Cleveland Browns, who missed a late field goal to hand a 14-11 victory to the Washington Redskins. The ‘Skins were led by Clinton Portis’s 175 yards rushing and improved their record to 5-2. It was their fifth win by seven or fewer points, and The Washington Post duly calls it a “Close Encounter of the 5th Kind.”

Washington is also home to NBC's long-running program "Meet the Press," where on Sunday morning former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Obama’s biggest Republican endorsement to date paired with news of his biggest fundraising haul yet — $150 million in September. Fittingly, then, The Washington Times couples the two items with the headline “Obama Gains $150 million, Powell’s nod.”

But the election is far from over, said Republican nominee John McCain: "I love being the underdog."

So, it seemed for a while, did baseball’s Boston Red Sox. They fell behind three games to one in their American League Championship Series with the Tampa Bay Rays and pushed the series to a Game 7 before losing last night, 3-1. The Nashua, N.H., Telegraph bemoaned that, for the Sox, the “Magic runs out,” while in Florida reality trumps magic. The Tampa Tribune proclaims: “It’s For Real!”

The Rays advance to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which begins Wednesday.

Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

A few cracks in story of Joe the Plumber

By John Maynard

While the economy remains topic du jour in the nation’s newspapers, it’s a bald plumber named Joe who’s clogging up a lot of front-page space today.

Wall Street continues to perform like a wildly gyrating elevator with the Dow Jones shooting up over 400 points yesterday. A front page headline on The Day (New London, Conn.) reads positively frantic: “It’s down. No, it’s up again! No, it’s down…”

Seniors got some good news yesterday with the announcement that Social Security checks are going up almost 6% next year and several papers take note. “Seniors secure a raise,” blares The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. “Social Security gets pay raise,” reads the banner headline in The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wis.).

But Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher is the man today. In Wednesday’s presidential debate, John McCain said the plumber would be negatively affected by Barack Obama’s tax plan. Obama disagreed and, from there, Joe’s name was volleyed back and forth like a cheap rubber gasket.

His 15 minutes arrived.

“Move over, Britney,” writes the Los Angeles Times above a story about the plumber’s new-found fame. “Much ado about Joe,” declares The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.).

Upon further review, though, it turns out that Joe doesn’t have a plumbing license, owes back taxes to the state of Ohio and might not be hurt by Obama’s tax plan after all.

“Joe the Plumber? His tale has a few leaks,” is how The Miami Herald put it. “‘Joe the plumber’ story springs a few leaks,” counters the Idaho Statesman in Boise.

Some papers focused on their own “Local Joes.” The Ventura County (Calif.) Star profiles plumber Joe Lara, who recalls how media from around the world contacted him Wednesday night mistakenly thinking he was the plumber referenced in the debate.

A Providence Journal story headlined “Just Ask Joe” interviews plumbers in Rhode Island — named Joe — about their presidential picks.

Finally, this Red Sox fan would be remiss not to note the team’s miraculous and historic comeback last night from a 7-0 deficit against the Tampa Bay Rays in game 5 of the American League playoffs. “Heartbreaker,” writes the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times about its team’s 8-7 loss.

As any Red Sox fan can tell you, we know all about heartbreak.

John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.

Shock Jock Docks at Newseum for Morning Show

ABC Radio host Don Imus became the latest of a long list of nationally syndicated radio stars to broadcast his show live at the Newseum. "Imus in the Morning" aired Oct. 16, 2008, from the Newseum’s Knight TV Studio.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Not debatable: Gloves off, Dow down

By Patty Rhule

There was little debate in newsrooms about the top news today: The final presidential debate and the stock market’s second-worst plunge.

In GOP candidate John McCain’s home state of Arizona, The Dispatch reported “Both take off the gloves” with a sidebar called “Check their facts” inside. (On the same page, a story about a debate among candidates for the state House said, “Politicians turn from kitty cats to pit bulls.” No mention of lipstick, however.)

“Final debate gets tough and personal,” said the North County Times in Escondido, Calif., with a dramatic photo of the candidates and debate moderator Bob Schieffer. The lead story was “Yet another precipitous Dow plunge.”

“McCain doesn’t seal the deal,” said the Los Angeles Times’s front-page analysis.

“Verbal fisticuffs,” said the Los Angeles Daily News, with a boxing theme that was echoed in other newspapers.

The San Diego Union-Tribune presented the debate facial expressions of Democratic candidate Barack Obama and McCain, with “As McCain presses, Obama parries in sharp exchanges.”

“Red October,” said the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, with a simple yet elegant graphic reflecting the grim stock market month atop its debate package labeled, “Offense …” for McCain and “… Defense” for Obama.

Many newspapers concluded it was Joe the Plumber, a man whose question to Obama about tax policy became a debate theme, who was the star of the debate. “Battle for Average Joe,” said the Chicago Sun-Times.

That would be Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, and Toledo’s Blade had a story on his thoughts about the debate.

The Seattle Times summed up Joe’s significance: “Who is Joe the plumber? An Ohio man looking to buy a business became a symbol of the middle class.”

The Yakima Herald-Republic in Washington took a cue from Eastern religious philosophy, tagging the final debate “The Tao of Joe.”

prhule@newseum.org Patty Rhule is a project editor at the Newseum.

Media Failed To Make Cents of Financial Crisis?

By Bridget Gutierrez, Newseum exhibits writer

Crisis. Bailout. Fears. Panic.

Since mid-September, chaos on Wall Street has dominated newspaper front pages across the country. Now a global financial meltdown is making headlines worldwide, and some are asking what role journalists played in the crisis.

A recent series of headlines on Tina Brown’s new Web site, "The Daily Beast," summed up some of the sentiments: Is the Press Spooking the Market? Should Reporters Go To Jail? Did Jim Cramer Sink the Dow?

Early on, critics charged the media with fear-mongering, saying overhyped reports were contributing to the disaster. Others blamed journalists for not realizing potential problems in the markets, and then warning the public.

"As in the savings and loan scandal of the late 1980s, the press was a day late and several dollars short," longtime press critic Howard Kurtz concluded in The Washington Post last Monday.

CNBC correspondent Charlie Gasparino even apologized for the perceived failures: "What we didn’t understand was that this was building up," Gasparino told Kurtz. "We all bear responsibility to a certain extent."

Some reporters had looked skeptically at the financial issues, particularly in the subprime mortgage industry, months ago. Media columnist David Carr of The New York Times defended that reporting.

"After large-scale financial disasters, the press is usually criticized — often justly — for ignoring the problem, but it’s hard to make that case with the subprime mess," Carr wrote late last month. "If no one saw this coming, they were not looking."

An exhibit on the media and the financial crisis can be found in the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery, where historic newspapers from the Great Depression also are on display.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Rays score a win, Californians lose homes, debate up for grabs

By Kate Kennedy

Today’s front pages declare some winners and losers. Let’s take a look.

Winners

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party: “Déjà vu: Tory minority,” the Toronto Star declared after Harper was re-elected in Tuesday’s federal election. Explained The Globe and Mail of Toronto: “Canadians give the Tories a stronger mandate to steer the country through stormy economic times — but they deny Harper total control.”

Motorists: Amid the economic gloom and doom, gas prices are a bright spot. “Gas at less than $3 per gallon stops Salem drivers in their tracks,” said the Statesman Journal in Oregon.

Tampa Bay Rays: The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times called it “Phenomenal” after the Rays beat the Red Sox, 13-4, and came within one win of advancing to the World Series.

Losers

Southern Californians: They have lost homes and businesses to wildfires in what the Press-Telegram of Long Beach called a nightmare. “34 square miles and counting,” The Bakersfield Californian reported. “Three blazes have killed one, destroyed dozens of homes.”

Boston Red Sox: In a photo caption, The Boston Globe reported that the misery began in the first inning of last night’s game against the Rays. The neighboring Concord (N.H.) Monitor was less polite about the Sox performance: “Uninspired. Lethargic. Pathetic.”

Another tie?

Will there be a winner in tonight’s final presidential debate? The Daily News of New York used a caricature of John McCain and said, “Tonight’s debate is do-or-die for McCain’s campaign.” The State of Columbia, S.C., asked: “Will there be smoke — or fire? Some are expecting last McCain-Obama debate to generate few details but lots of heat.” One winner might be debate host Hofstra University. “All eyes on LI,” said Newsday of Long Island.

Today’s biggest winners might just be readers who were entertained by this morning’s Plain Dealer of Cleveland. The newspaper analyzed 2.7 million voter-registration records of Ohioans who declared a party affiliation before the spring primary. What did they find? “A name tells a lot about a person’s political leanings.” Barbie? She’s “a left-leaning glam gal … while boy-toy Ken runs conservative.” You can find out which way your name leans on The Plain Dealer’s Web site.

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

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'Wall Street Lays An Egg'

In a 1999 USA Weekend/Newseum survey of the top 100 stories of the 20th century, 36,000 Americans ranked the U.S. stock market crashes of 1929 as No. 8.

This video, produced by the Newseum, explains how the press covered one of the country’s major financial crises.

Related Story
Media Failed To Make Cents of Financial Crisis?
Newseum exhibits writer Bridget Gutierrez examines the role journalists have played in the current financial crisis.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

U.S. bolsters banks, giving bounce to the Dow

By Kate Kennedy

How quickly fortunes can change.

After a brutal week on Wall Street, the Dow was up 936 points on Monday, the largest point gain ever. That prompted relief from Wyoming (“Relief at last!” said the Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne.) to North Carolina (“A sigh of relief,” The Charlotte Observer said.).

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it “A reversal of fortune,” while the Rocky Mountain News in Denver described it as a “U-turn on Wall St.” “Stocks leap back from the edge,” said The Oregonian in Portland.

While some front pages focused solely on the Dow, the news behind the news was the move by the government to invest $250 billion in banks. The news was so significant that The New York Times and The Washington Post each devoted two-line banner headlines to the news. “U.S. Forces Nine Major Banks To Accept Partial Nationalization,” The Post said. In fewer words, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee said: “U.S. tosses lifeline to banks.”

Many headlines responded to cause and effect and tied the banking move and Dow surge. “Plans to stabilize banks delight Wall St.,” the Chicago Tribune said. “Bold move sends stocks soaring,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.

There was a hint of optimism in the air. “New plan lifts market, hopes,” The Honolulu Advertiser said. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked the question we all have: “Stocks soar, but will it last?”

The U.S. is following in the steps of Europe, which took action on its banks on Monday. “Nations act, markets soar,” The Boston Globe said. Said The Guardian of London: “Day the markets breathed again.”

Voting today: The U.S. presidential campaign still has three weeks to go. But Canadians go to the polls today in a federal election. The Hamilton Spectator told its readers: “After 141 years and 39 parliaments, today you decide who will be the next prime minister of Canada.” The Toronto Star pictured four candidates with the label “Why I deserve your vote.” But noting economic challenges and internal rifts, The Globe and Mail of Toronto said, “Leaders face tough fight beyond finish.”

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

College Football On The Front Page: Automatic Touchdown

By Kate Kennedy, Newseum front pages editor

A fall chill is in the air, thousands of fans are in the stands, the teams are on the field and college football is on the front page.

On Oct. 5, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported the Hawkeyes’ "Failure to Convert" in their loss to Michigan State. But the Press-Citizen hasn’t failed to convert interest in the University of Iowa Hawkeyes into newspaper content. It publishes a four-page wrap-around section for each home game.

"Hawkeye football is huge news in Iowa," Executive Editor Jim Lewers said.

And college football is front-page fodder for other newspapers — whether it’s Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News and its column on the firing of Auburn University’s offensive coordinator, or Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star and the reporting of a Huskers fan accused of theft after keeping a kicked ball.

What brought college football into the big leagues? Economics, said Malcolm Moran, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State and director of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

"For years, the bowl with the largest payout was the Rose Bowl with just over $4 million," Moran said. "Now all the bowl championship series games … have payouts of more than $15 million. Individual schools do not receive that much because of a revenue-sharing process, but the increase has been dramatic."

And economics come into play in considering the newsworthiness of college football.

"[Hawkeyes] Coach Kirk Ferentz is the state’s highest-paid public employee. The team draws more than 70,000 fans for six or seven weekends each fall, filling hotels and restaurants all over the area," Lewers said. "And when the Hawkeyes are playing, our city’s eyes are on them."

New York City’s sensational press is credited with developing sports coverage and a public interest in college football in the late 1890s. In his book "King Football," Michael Oriard said that before television "what college football offered fans that professional and high school football could not was a local team competing in a national arena."

When the University of Michigan and Stanford University met in the 1902 Rose Bowl, an "Extra" edition of the Los Angeles Express printed photos of coaches and captains in a frame of roses. (Michigan was "too swift and skillful" and won, 49–0.)

College games and post-season bowls proliferated in the 1920s and 1930s, Oriard wrote, as "football teams became public symbols of universities, communities and entire regions."

The Chicago Evening Post called it "the biggest crowd that ever got together to see a football game" on Nov. 16, 1929, when Notre Dame and Southern California met before about 120,000 fans. The allure of college football was too irresistible, and the Evening Post also touted the Chicago-Illinois game and the Northwestern-Indiana contest on its front page.

Both college football and the press are different today, but front pages remain interested in the collegiate sport. And that interest is rewarded with circulation gains.

"We see circulation and online traffic go up quite a bit when they are winning," Lewers said, "particularly after they win a home game."

When the Oregon State Beavers upset No. 1-ranked USC, news of a "Stunning Win" took up two-thirds of the Sept. 26 Gazette-Times in Corvallis, Ore.

And when Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa marked "A 5-0 first," the Oct. 5 Tulsa World said, "State teams stay perfect in historic start." Explained Executive Editor Joe Worley: "Football is king in Oklahoma, and we didn't need a huddle at the Tulsa World to decide to put our three undefeated teams on A1."

A Newseum-produced video on the history of sports reporting runs daily in the Newseum’s Sports Theater.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Searching for relief from economic gloom

By Bridget Gutierrez

Weary of news on the financial front? On today’s front pages there’s a little relief, with articles that take the mind away from that 401k.

The Los Angeles Times injects levity with “Satellite radio sweeps Stern off cultural radar,” an update on shock-jock Howard Stern, who apparently is not shocking as many as he used to.

In “Bottled water company steamed about radio ad,” The Miami Herald reports that the maker of Zephyrhills was none too pleased about a recent advertisement touting the virtues of Miami-Dade’s (free) tap water. “It may have sounded innocuous to most listeners,” Curtis Morgan writes, “but the 30-second spot left the nation’s largest purveyor of bottled water boiling mad.” You don’t say.

From The Boston Globe, there’s this intriguing item: “Bid to canonize girl draws mixed reaction,” in which readers learn of a movement to make a saint out of a dead Massachusetts girl who nearly drowned when she was 3. In other religious news, The Wall Street Journal asks: “Is the Pope’s Newspaper Catholic?” Stacey Meichtry reports that the Vatican’s 147-year-old L’Osservatore Romano is forgoing religious tracts for honest-to-goodness articles. “There was a really precise request from the paper’s publisher,” Editor-in-Chief Giovanni Maria Vian told Meichtry; “in this case, the publisher just happens to be the pope.”

Internet domain names are changing, according to today’s Orlando Sentinel. “The change is part of perhaps the biggest expansion ever to Internet addresses, with the makeover of so-called ‘top-level domains’ beginning perhaps as early as next year,” Etan Horowitz reports. “But it won’t come cheap ? getting a new domain will likely be at least $100,000.” Yikes.

In the Pioneer Press, a heartwarmer about a community rallying to give a young couple a $60,000 dream wedding takes up three-quarters of the page. “The flowers? Free. The cake? Gratis. The hotel suite? On the house,” the subheadline reads. “After a year of recovering from injuries suffered in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Mercedes Golden is about to marry Jake Rudh.” How nice.

Finally, when all other news fails to lift the gloom, look for the tried-but-true animal tale. Today’s installment comes from The Charlotte Observer, where under “HE’S JUST A BIG, HAIRY CINDERELLA” the newspaper tells readers: “When Beau came to Polkton, he could hardly stand up. Now he’s a handsome, lovable champion.”

If a puppy dog doesn't take your mind off your money, nothing will.

Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Panic selling brings another emotional day on stock market

By Kate Kennedy

They look worried.

On Thursday — for the seventh business day in a row — the stock market was down, down, down. With the Dow dragged below 9,000 for the first time in five years, front pages look worried. “Another losing day,” said The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky.

In Casper, Wyo., Tacoma, Wash., and Fort Worth, Texas, the word “panic” was on the front page. Red down arrows were printed the width of the Chicago Tribune: “All signs pointing to panic.”

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the stock market’s all-time high, and the Rocky Mountain News charted the descent from “Peak to bleak.” “What a difference a year makes,” The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H., said in a graphic. “And it just gets worse,” The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press said.

GM was one stock that got pummeled. “Auto Fears Grow,” The Detroit News said, adding, “Market Drop Revives Talk of Bankruptcy.”

Headlines had a sense of helplessness. “Running out of options,” The Record of Hackensack, N.J., said, adding, “Finding a cure for financial crisis proves elusive.”

The San Antonio (Texas) Express-News optimistically looked ahead in its coverage of options: “World gearing up to cool meltdown.” The Indianapolis Star examined the economic toolbox available to the government: “Standard options have failed to shore up unstable markets.”

Even as The Sun of Baltimore called it “Uneasy Street” and others reported panic, Newsday on Long Island offered advice from experts: “Even Now, Don’t Panic (Really).”

Amid the gloom, The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., began a series on happiness, “the most sought-after human emotion.” Offered the newspaper: “How to get happy? Thinking positive is a good start.”

J

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

At the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street, the financial crisis

By Hicks Wogan

On the presidential campaign trail both major-party tickets have been using the global financial crisis to draw a distinction within America, a distinction between haves and have-nots, between wealthy “Wall Street” and everyday “Main Street.”

On both streets, however, the crisis is front-page news.

The Wall Street Journal takes money matters seriously. Today it notes that the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe cut interest rates yesterday, trying to slow their market declines. AM New York, also in Manhattan, has a different focus. The paper profiles a number of “Stress Busters,” ways in which “The wealthy indulge in guilty pleasures to deal with the Wall Street crisis.” Photos on this front page suggest Wall Streeters are still spending money on desserts, spa treatments, credit-card shopping sprees and — seriously? — lap dances.

Back on the campaign trail, the vice-presidential nominees like to tout themselves as blue-collar Americans, as a son and a daughter of Main Street. Democrat Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pa., where today’s Times-Tribune notes yesterday’s Dow Jones drop of 189 points. Biden lives in Wilmington, Del., where the biggest headline on the front page of The News Journal reads, “Market’s painful plummet continues.”

Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Republican Sarah Palin hails from tiny (but Main Street) Wasilla, Alaska, about 45 minutes from Anchorage, where today the Anchorage Daily News refers readers looking for financial news to the B section, the paper’s Nation/World section.

Here’s a different approach: If Main Street is synonymous with Middle America, is Main Street located at the middle of America? The geographic center of our 50 states sits just north of Rapid City, S.D., and today the Rapid City Journal asks, “When will the financial meltdown hit bottom?” In Newark, N.J., The Star-Ledger uses a banner atop its front page to ask the similarly rhetorical “How Low Will It Go?”

Finally, not on Main Street but on a Maine street, the Portland Press Herald highlights its state’s lobster industry, which is suffering. Right about this time of year Maine should be entering its usual high season for lobsters. But this year, because fuel and bait are expensive and lobsters are a luxury food item, demand has fallen off.

That’s bad news. But eating lobsters in Maine? That’s not news. That’s nearly as clichéd as a politician’s talking about Main Street.

Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Presidential debate: Community paper makes national story its own

By Kate Kennedy

For 90 minutes Tuesday night, John McCain and Barack Obama answered questions in a town-hall debate at Belmont University in Tennessee.

The presidential debate was the first ever to be held in Nashville, and the question for the community newspaper, The Tennessean, was: How are we going to own the story?

The Tennessean started by providing readers information in the days leading up to the debate. A blog by a higher education reporter shared all things debate and was republished in the next day’s print edition. By Tuesday afternoon, a debate splash page reported political appearances and media and celeb sightings, along with traffic updates and how-to-navigate-town information. A slideshow examined past candidates’ visits to the area, a game asked viewers to match a candidate’s face with a quote, and video highlighted comments from a women voters’ roundtable held earlier at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center.

By 6 p.m. Eastern time, the site posted “Debate Day” photos, a story noted Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander’s advice for McCain, and the blogger signed off to head to debate hall. By 7 p.m., pundits and Nashvillians weighed in, and the site noted excitement by Belmont neighbors. At 8 p.m., new photos and streaming video from a debate event at the Ryman Auditorium were added. When the presidential candidates appeared on stage with moderator Tom Brokaw at 9 p.m., streaming video of the debate began.

By 10 p.m., The Tennessean posted an AP story on candidates’ comments on the causes and cures for the economic crisis. When it was all said and done, debate reaction was reported in more streaming video by 11 p.m.

By the time the printed Tennessean was dropped at doorsteps, Tennessean.com’s homepage was divided into thirds to report on “Nashville,” “The Main Event” and “Yesterday in Review.” Stories included an analysis and fact-checking; yesterday’s events around Belmont were reported on video; the night’s festivities were chronicled in photos; polls tallied “Who won” and “Who had the best answer;” and comments from four undecided voters were charted in “Did they change any minds?”

But the Web features weren’t the only special treatment given the debate. A large photo and the headline “Seeking Trust” filled The Tennessean’s front page. “Barack Obama and John McCain, in their Belmont debate, paced the floor, exchanged barbs and tried to connect with worried voters,” said The Tennessean, referring to images and reaction inside.

And, as if to promise more, it added at the bottom of the page: “27 days until election.”

Economy as the key word … As USA Today reported “$2 trillion wiped out of retirement funds” in the last 15 months, newspapers noted that the failing economy was the main debate headline. “Town hall questions make it clear … It’s the economy, senators,” the Chicago Tribune said. “Economy rules,” pronounced the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., called it “Wrestling over the economy.” “Economy in the spotlight,” noted the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. And said the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald: “Tottering economy at center stage.”

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Financial worries the world over lead newspapers the world over

By Gene Mater

The first line of the headline on the lead story in today’s Washington Post says it best and says it for and to all: “Global Stocks Sink as Crisis Spirals.” Newspapers the world over are reporting on the financial problems that seem to be truly universal.

The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels leads with “Markets plummet around the world,” while The Wall Street Journal Asia in Hong Kong tells its readers that “Fear puts chokehold on global markets.” In Paris, La Tribune says there is panic in the stock market, while The Jerusalem Post leads with “Dow’s wild ride shakes globe.” Gulf News in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has an all caps banner “BOOM … AND GLOOM,” and The Times in Johannesburg, South Africa, reports the drop in value of the local currency and that “Investors flee markets.”

Financial Review in Sydney, Australia, banners “Markets slide as contagion spreads through Europe,” The Sun in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, says, “Wall Street tumbles in global sell off,” The Telegraph in Calcutta, India, notes a “Ripple of terror across markets,” Portafolio in Bogota, Colombia, reports on “another day in the red” and the The Press in Christchurch, New Zealand, also sees red with “Treasury books ‘sea of red ink.’” Meanwhile, Iran Daily in Tehran advises the free world that “Free economic theories doomed.”

In the United States, the Los Angeles Times banner headline reports “Fears of world recession deepen,” The Denver Post reports on “Global sell-off” with a drop headline noting that “Markets tank worldwide as fears of a wide-scale recession spread,” and The Idaho Statesman in Boise also says, “Investors fear worldwide recession.” The Boston Globe has a two-word banner: “Worldwide worry,” and The Star-Ledger in Newark N.J., also tells it all in a two-word banner but makes plural with “Worldwide Worries.” The Birmingham (Ala.) News reports, “Fed weighs radical move in debt market,” and The Plain Dealer in Cleveland tells its readers about “Scary day on the stock market.”

The tabloid New York Post takes a different approach, reaching back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address in 1933 to quote in a head that almost fills the page to advise that “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself,” adding that “FDR was right then. And he’s right now.”

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Sunshine Week

Veteran journalists Tom Brokaw, Ben Bradlee and Judy Woodruff promote open government and freedom of information during Sunshine Week, March 11–17, sponsored by RTNDA, the association of electronic journalists.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Financial crisis reaches Europe and rates front-page coverage

By Gene Mater

We are not alone. The New York Times’ lead headline today reports that “Financial Crises Spread in Europe,” a situation reflected in a sampling of west European newspapers.

The immediate problem is with banks in Germany, with The Wall Street Journal Europe, published in Brussels, Belgium, telling its readers in a banner headline that “Germany backs deposits as crisis grows.” Two Brussels dailies – De Morgen and Het Nieuwsblad – lead with the troubles of Fortis, an insurance and banking firm based in Belgium but active in much of Europe.

In Germany itself, Der Tagesspiegel and Die Welt in Berlin play up the state guarantee of savings accounts as do our friends at the Heilbronner Stimme in Heilbronn and at the Suedwest Presse in Ulm. The Financial Times Deutschland in Hamburg has a banner headline for the state guarantees with a price tag of 568 billion Euros. In neighboring Austria, the Salzburger Nachrichten in Salzburg offers a new sound of music, reporting that the government will guarantee bank accounts, while the Kurier in Vienna leads with “More protection for the saver” and the competing Der Standard plays up “Full protection for the saver,” linking it to the action in Germany. But the Kleine Zeitung in Graz asks whether there will be a full guarantee of savings.

La Stampa in Torino leads with “Berlin: guarantee for savings,” and La Repubblica in Rome does the same. El Pais in Madrid, Spain, also leads with the German guarantee of savings, while Trouw in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Basler Zeitung in Basel, Switzerland, play up the increasing financial crisis in Europe. The Daily Telegraph in London reports “Treasury planning to take shares in banks,” but The Guardian in London says, “Treasury anger at German savings move,” with “UK under pressure to match guarantee.”

But our favorite lead headline is in La Tribune, the Paris financial daily, reporting “Crisis: America acts, Europe discusses,” a somewhat rare nod in praise of something done in the United States.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Spirited but cordial: One heckuva debate?

By Kate Kennedy

FROM THE COLLECTION

News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla., Oct. 12, 1984 (Newseum collection)

Lloyd Bentsen jabbed Dan Quayle with "You are no Jack Kennedy." George H.W. Bush lectured Geraldine Ferraro on foreign policy, and she struck back. But Thursday night’s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin was devoid of a zinger like in 1988 or the hand-to-hand combat of 1984.

"Spirited" and "pointed" described the debate, but "cordial" and "courteous" also appeared in headlines. "Spirit of St. Louis?" The Plain Dealer of Cleveland asked. "Polite."

That’s a bit of a yawn for the front page.

"Biden-Palin debate lacks expected fire," the Times-Picayune of New Orleans said.

The only 2008 vice presidential debate was held in St. Louis, where the Post-Dispatch said, "Candidates accomplish their missions." The San Antonio Express-News offered a debate scorecard, the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald declared: "There’s no loser in expectations game."

Many headlines focused on Palin, who, when asked earlier by Katie Couric what newspapers and magazines she read regularly, said: "I’ve read most of them." Phrases such as "held her own" and "stands her ground" were common. Said The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y., "Palin tops low expectations." The Daily News of New York declared: "No Baked Alaska." In a front-page commentary, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel instructed, "Republicans can wipe sweat from brows."

Palin’s folksy style rubbed off on headline writers. "‘Heck’ of a show," The Oregonian of Portland said. "Debate? ‘Darn right,’" noted the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News. The Hartford (Conn.) Courant broke out quotes – "Best Digs," "The Folksy Touch" and "Maverick, Shmaverick."

From Biden’s home state, Delaware, The News Journal of Wilmington noted the focus on the middle-class vote. Said The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, "Candidates aim for middle-class touch in debate."

In Detroit, the debate was secondary news after the John McCain campaign pulled its forces from Michigan. "Decision alters strategy in race for White House," The Detroit News said. Barack Obama campaigned in the state on Thursday, and the Free Press had an "exclusive" interview with the Democrat on "What keeps Obama awake at night." Last night, it wasn’t the debate.

kkennedy@newseum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Video: Citizens React to Debate

Meeting in St. Louis: Reactions to the Debate

Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden’s spirited 90-minute debate was front-page news around the country. The Newseum’s Sonya Gavankar asked Washington, D.C., locals what they thought about the debate.

Front Pages Analysis: Oct. 3, 2008

More: Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, John McCain, Barack Obama, Campaign 2008

Today's Front Pages Analysis

A bailout, by any other name, is still the same

By Emily Hedges

Last night, the Senate passed a bill to help out the U.S. financial markets. Although, according to this story, the White House does not prefer the term "bailout," many newspaper editors used this word on their front pages. Let's take a look at the language.

The headlines of The Birmingham (Ala.) News, "Senate Passes $700 Billion Bailout Bill," and the Tucson Arizona Daily Star, "Senate OKs Bailout Plan," are good examples of what most newspapers did -- straightforward headlines with the word "bailout."

Some editors preferred "rescue" to "bailout." New Orleans's Times-Picayune preferred "rescue" in its headline, "Senate Passes Rescue Proposal." The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass., called the major backers of the bill "Rescue squad." Fort Myers, Fla.'s News-Press pictured a cozy time on the Senate floor: "Senate Embraces Rescue Plan."

Mary Poppins said a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, and many editors agree. Sugary language dripped from many headlines including those of Melbourne's Florida Today, " 'Sugar' helps Senate swallow bailout bill," and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.'s Sun Sentinel, "Senate's Recipe to Make Bailout Palatable: Add Sweeteners."

Many headlines featured numbers. The Laramie (Wyo.) Boomerang made "Yea 74, Nay 25" its headline, with a nod to local news by noting that both Wyoming senators voted against the bill. The amount of the bailout was referenced in many headlines, though the figure varied. Jackson, Miss.'s Clarion-Ledger called it a "$700B Bailout," while the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted an updated -- and inflated -- figure: "Senate passes fat $810B fix."

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer was one of few papers to note in its headline that the bailout bill includes tax cuts. The Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald quoted a knowledgeable source, "Experts: Rescue vital."

One of our favorite places to read the news is the tabloids. The New York tabloids had a field day with the news. Long Island's Newsday used a pun: "Senate to House: Bail's in Your Court." The Daily News said, "It's on the House," and the New York Post headline read "Oink! Oink! Senate OKs rescue deal full of pork."

No matter what you want to call the bill, the bottom line and the front-page news is that the Senate approved it. The Times-Republican of Marshalltown, Iowa, cut to the chase with a big stamp-of-approval graphic on the top of its front page.  

Emily Hedges is an assistant editor at the Newseum.

From Ferraro to Palin: Not Much Change in VP Coverage

By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor

Here we go again. For the second time in 24 years, a woman is a major-party nominee for vice president. And just as in 1984, when Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale, amid a "swirl of speculation," chose Rep. Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, GOP voters in 2008 are energized about Sen. John McCain’s pick of Gov. Sarah Palin. Through the archives of The New York Times, here is a brief look back at some of the coverage of Ferraro’s historic campaign.

July 13: Headline: "Mondale Decision: Praise Ignores Risks"
"Democratic leaders … greeted Walter F. Mondale’s choice of a woman as his running mate as a bold attempt to reshape his political image and to fire up what some feared would become a humdrum, almost hopeless challenge against President Reagan."

July 13: Headline: "Democrats Praise Selection; Many Feminists Are Elated"
"Prominent Democrats … rallied around Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro … and feminist leaders praised the selection as a historic breakthrough. … Republican spokesmen, apparently presaging their line of attack in the campaign this fall, challenged what they called Mrs. Ferraro’s limited experience, especially in foreign affairs."

July 19: Headline: "Mondale Might Have to Work Hard to Outshine the Woman at His Side"
"At an Italian restaurant … a couple of Washington political professionals, both liberal Democrats, were talking about the unusual political problems facing Walter F. Mondale as the result of his history-making choice of a woman as his running mate. … These political operatives and other Democrats … wonder if Mr. Mondale faces the prospect of being overshadowed in the fall campaign by Representative Ferraro."

July 20: Headline: "The Ferraro Factor"
"Party leaders from all regions of the country hailed ‘the Ferraro factor’ … as a new trump card that had incalculably altered the prospects for the fall campaign. … ‘She’s Archie Bunker, she’s a religious woman in the Bible Belt, she’s a mother and gets down and talks plain about kids, she’s a wife and supportive, she’s worked hard to get where she is, she’s law and order, she’s tough,’ said Jimmy Knight, the Alabama chairman. ‘You betcha she’ll sell in Alabama.’"

Aug. 7: Headline: "House Republican Chief Assails Ferraro Choice"
"Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro would have been an extremely unlikely choice to run for Vice President if she were not a woman, and her inexperience will begin to show in a long campaign, according to Representative Robert H. Michel, the House minority leader. ‘I doubt very much whether, in today’s politics, we would be inclined to pick a third-term member of Congress if he were a man, with no other experience, other than as state’s attorney, or district attorney, and say he is qualified to be President,’ Mr. Michel … said in an interview."

Aug. 15: Headline: "Running Mate Drawing Flood of New Volunteers"
"While there are no hard figures … leaders from a wide political spectrum agree that the nomination of Mrs. Ferraro for Vice President has generated an unexpected surge of volunteers, the vast majority of them women, to work for the Democratic ticket."

Aug. 20: Headline: "Ferraro, in TV Questioning, Says She Is Hiding Nothing"
"In a spirited exchange on national television, Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro … defended her actions on several personal financial matters, saying she had nothing to hide. … But Mrs. Ferraro … declined to give details when asked about approximately $60,000 in back taxes that her press secretary said Mrs. Ferraro and her husband, John A. Zaccaro, owed from 1978."

Aug. 21: Headline: "Aides to Mondale Say Ferraro Got Limited Review as Running Mate"
"Walter F. Mondale’s top campaign office admitted … that aides had mistakenly overlooked some aspects of the finances of Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro and her husband, John A. Zaccaro, before Mr. Mondale picked Mrs. Ferraro as his running mate. … James A. Johnson, the Mondale campaign chairman, said … that campaign aides and advisers had spent only 48 hours going over the financial records of the Queens Congresswoman and her husband."

Aug. 22: Headline: "Republicans Hint Ferraro Is Liability"
"With stickers saying ‘Mondale-Eagleton ’84’ and with public statements, Republicans seem to be suggesting that Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro may be forced off the Democratic ticket because of the furor over her family’s finances. … Senator Bob Kasten, A Wisconsin Republican said: ‘She’s no longer an asset, she’s a detriment. I think this is really beginning to hurt Mondale.’"

Aug. 24: Headline: "Ferraro’s Finances: Is the Press Being Fair?"
"For over a week, the financial affairs of Geraldine A. Ferraro … and John Zaccaro, her husband, have been under intense scrutiny by the nation’s news media. … But bubbling beneath the surface of the story is a difficult question that promises to emerge as an issue of public debate and is already being discussed internally by people in the news business: Has the nation’s press been fair to Representative Ferraro?"

Sept. 6: Headline: "Challenges to Ferraro Bring Strong Responses Among Women"
"There is a strong backlash among many women against the grilling from the news media the couple have faced, along with a swell of pride similar to that experienced by blacks about the candidacy of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. … Many women framed their difficulty: they think Mrs. Ferraro is facing tougher scrutiny because she’s a woman, but they do not want her to get special treatment because she is a woman."

Nov. 4: Headline: "Ferraro Says She Senses Surprise Vote by Women"
"Geraldine A. Ferraro says she senses that a hidden vote, by women who are not telling their husbands, their friends or poll takers that they intend to vote for her, will emerge on Election Day. … She said she was unperturbed by results of two New York Times/CBS Polls that showed that by the end of October her favorable ratings had dropped and her unfavorable rating had increased."

Nov. 7: Headline: "Excerpts From Ferraro’s Talk"
"For two centuries, candidates have run for President. Not one from a major party ever asked a woman to be his running mate until Walter Mondale. When he asked me to campaign by his side, he opened a door which will never be closed again. That is a victory of which every American can be proud. Campaigns, even if you lose them, do serve a purpose. My candidacy has said the days of discrimination are numbered. American women will never again be second-class citizens."

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Baseball playoffs: Eight teams, eight dreams

By Kate Kennedy

While Washington lawmakers might not be able to agree on a financial bailout, there’s no disagreement among fans of eight baseball teams: Let the playoffs begin!

Los Angeles Times has “Visions of an elusive I-5 series” between the Dodgers and Angels. The Daily News of Los Angeles promotes a 12-page baseball preview section and tonight’s “Windy City vs. City of Angels” (Cubs vs. Dodgers) game.

The Angels meet the Boston Red Sox tonight. “For Sox owner Henry, the joy comes daily,” The Boston Globe said in a profile of billionaire owner John Henry. There is less joy in the Cape Cod Times: “Angels ready as Sox limp into L.A.”

The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, last night in a one-and-done playoff. From northwest Indiana, The Times of Munster said, “Thanks, Danks!” a reference to pitcher John Danks, who threw eight scoreless innings.

With both the White Sox and the Cubs in the playoffs, the Chicago Tribune celebrated the “once-in-a-lifetime event,” noting “the last time this happened was in 1906.” The Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed: “Worth the Wait.” The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago provided equal treatment with a “Black & Blue” package.

The White Sox meet the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, and the St. Petersburg Times pictured a teen, Zac Giparas, who will be sitting above third base. Zac also was in the stands 10 years ago at the Rays’ first game.

With the Twins “Outta There,” Minnesotans face the long, cold months until spring training with Midwest optimism. “Someday … they will look back and realize what a remarkable season they had,” the St. Paul Pioneer Press said of the Twins.

Chicago wasn’t the only city in waiting. “It has been 9,478 days since the Brewers … lost Game 7 of the 1982 World Series,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reminded readers. From Wisconsin’s capital, the State Journal also had 1982 on its mind. Pairing photos from 1982 and today, the front page said, “Brewers fast forward, with 26 years of perspective.”

The Brewers face the Philadelphia Phillies today, and the Bucks County Courier Times in Levittown, P a., was “Looking for something to hate about the Brewers.” The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., compared Philly and Milwaukee: “Blue-collar cities share little more than a thirst for a champ.”

Today's Front Pages Analysis

'Dark Day' makes news all over the world

By Gene Mater

No matter where you are, chances are good that the newspaper you pick up today will have major Page One coverage of the House of Representatives’ failure to pass financial rescue legislation to help resolve the economic problems.

The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., reports about a “Dark Day,” and The Dallas Morning News banners the dollar amount of the stock market drop because the $700 million bailout failed – “$1.1 trillion lost.”

The Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., leads with “Shock, then a drop,” and The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., reports “Derailed rescue triggers chaos.”

Many U.S. newspapers use much of their front page in creative packages, often charting the downward spiral of the Dow in red ink. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida asks in second-coming type “NOW WHAT?” The Chicago Tribune also has a question, this one about the stock market – “How low will it go?” The Boston Globe incorporates a chart, four stories and four solemn photos in a “Crashing Down” package. The Las Vegas Review-Journal and The Oregonian in Portland incorporate 777 – the stock market’s largest one-day point drop ever – into their design.

The Bangor (Maine) Daily News uses a one-word banner:“Meltdown,” while The Forum in Fargo, N.D., also uses a one-word, all-caps headline: “FAILOUT.”

But we will give today’s prize to the editor of Newsday in Long Island, N.Y., for the Page One that you have to see to appreciate, with the BIG head proclaiming “WELL, THAT DIDN’T WORK.”

The economic problems that started in the U.S. and cut deeply into the stock market have affected markets abroad.

South China Morning Post in Hong Kong leads with “Markets fall as European banks falter,” Lidove Noviny in Prague, Czech Republic, has a photo of President Bush that is anything but happy, and La Tribune in Paris says, “The banks crack.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is the Page One poster boy for Nepszabadsag in Budapest, Hungary, while La Vanguardia in Barcelona, Spain, says it in one big English word – “Crash!” In London, The Guardian’s banner reports “Panic grips the world’s markets,” and Clarin in Buenos Aires, Argentina, tells its readers about the “worldwide crisis.”

The Times in Johannesburg , South Africa, says it all with a photo of a troubled trader labeled “Nightmare on Wall Street.”

Newseum Appears on "Jeopardy!"

WASHINGTON — The Newseum, the world’s most interactive museum, makes its debut as a game-show topic on the Oct. 1, 2008, broadcast of "Jeopardy!"

Producers of the Emmy Award-winning game show, which celebrates its 25th season this year, visited the Newseum last summer to videotape clues for a category in which the Newseum is the subject.

"It’s a great place to visit. I've been there," said host Alex Trebek. 

"Jeopardy!" was inducted into the "Guinness Book of World Records" for the most awards won by a TV game show. With nearly 39 million viewers a week, the series is the No. 1-rated quiz show in syndication and has held that title for more than 1,000 weeks.

"Jeopardy!" is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Paramount International Television, both units of CBS Corp.

For more information, visit www.jeopardy.com. Check local listings for a schedule.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Election surprises in Europe are major stories for many

By Gene Mater

While American dailies are focusing on the economic bailout plan and who will be the next president, elections yesterday in other countries are making headlines in Europe today.

In national elections in Austria, the far-right political parties made major gains, although the Social Democrats won the most votes. Kurier in Vienna tells it all with a banner about the “Radical swing to the right,” and Der Standard, also in Vienna, has a two-line banner headline reporting on the “debacle” for the great coalition and the “triumph” for the right. Another Vienna daily, Die Presse, trumpets the “Victory of the third camp.” Kleine Zeitung in Klagenfurt has a couple of sad-looking politicians taking up most of the page with a lead headline about the Christian Socialists falling off, while the Vorarlberger Nachrichten in Vorarlberg reports that the “election brings a swing to the right” and the Salzburger Nachrichten in Salzburg tells its readers that “Despite historic defeat, the great coalition hopes to remain” in power.

Moving next door to the German state of Bavaria, yesterday’s state election was a shocker that might have countrywide repercussions in next year’s national elections. That is why the story rates top coverage in most of Germany.

The Christian Socialist Union (CSU) has ruled Bavaria in unchallenged fashion with an absolute majority since 1962. Indeed, in the last major election four years ago the CSU had 60.7% of the vote, which dropped down to about 43.5% yesterday. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung in the Bavarian capital of Munich says it all with the headline “Devastating defeat for the CSU.” The Augsburger Allgemeine in Augsburg, also in Bavaria, reports “Political earthquake in Bavaria,” adding that “The CSU needs a coalition partner.” Even the Heilbronner Stimme in Heilbronn in Baden-Wuerttemberg leads with “Historic debacle for the CSU.” Up in Berlin, Der Tagesspiegel reports that “After 46 years: End of the CSU myth,” and Die Welt leads with “Bavarian election: Heavy losses for the CSU.”

There was another election of sorts yesterday in another country, Belarus, which has been ruled since 1994 by Alexander Lukashenko, the man often referred to as “the last dictator in Europe.” The election was for the 110-seat Belarus parliament in the capital, Minsk. Lukashenko promised a free and fair election, hoping to ease his strained relations with the West. There were indeed opposition candidates, but somehow only pro-Lukashenko candidates won all 110 seats. We don’t have any front pages from Belarus, but we thought that the Polish dailies might cover the election and, indeed, it’s the lead story in the major Warsaw daily, Gazeta Wyborcza.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

'The Secret Life of Bees' Premieres at the Newseum

By Patty Rhule, Newseum project editor

The Newseum rolled out its red carpet Sept. 25 for the Washington, D.C., premiere of Fox Searchlight Pictures’s "The Secret Life of Bees," opening in theaters Oct. 17.

"Bees" drew stars Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Sophie Okonedo, Nate Parker and Tristan Wilds and hundreds of moviegoers to the Newseum’s state-of-the-art Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater.

Fanning plays a troubled white teen taken in by three black sisters who sell honey in South Carolina in 1964, just as the Civil Rights Act is passed.

The book is based on the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd. She called the timing of the movie, weeks before a presidential election with the first black major-party candidate, "an interesting intersection. There’s a voter registration theme. I hope the movie will inspire people to vote."

Fanning, 14, said she is three and a half years from a voting booth, but as a native of Georgia, she was well aware of the era the movie reflects.

"My grandmother grew up in this time period. The movie can hopefully teach people things as well," she said.

London-born Okonedo said filming in North Carolina during presidential primary season made the movie feel "very relevant. It was the talk of the set."

Tristan Wilds, 19, will be voting in his first election. As to who the next president will be, Wilds said cagily, "There’s going to be a change in America, that’s all I can say."

To learn more about the civil rights era, visit the Newseum’s News Corporation News History Gallery, with historic newspapers, artifacts and films about that time period.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Washington’s bailout plan: ‘Hello, Goodbye’

By Kate Kennedy

“Day of Chaos Grips Washington.”

The New York Times had that right. A tentative deal on an economic bailout was announced and denounced in a 12-hour soap opera that included a half-joking plea for cooperation from the Treasury secretary, who got down on one knee.

In the end, The Washington Post noted, “Talks Falter.” Said USA Today, “House GOP defies Bush on bailout hours after pact seemed near.” The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post aptly said, “Day starts with promise, ends with finger-pointing.”

Some invoked the name of the popular TV show. “Deal or No Deal?” asked the Orlando Sentinel.

USA Today included a tick-tock of the bailout breakdown and pictured players in the negotiations. Among the players:

• • Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, who hails from Connecticut, where the Record-Journal of Meriden pictured a sign at a small business: “Mailman, Send Bills to the White House.”
• • Sen. Richard Shelby, ranking committee member, who is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the News noted that “negotiators planned to meet into the night to try to revive proposal” — unintentionally suggesting readers look elsewhere this morning for news.
• • Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who represents Massachusetts, where The Boston Globe reported, “Economic data point to recession.”
• • Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, who, in representing House Republicans, offered an alternative plan. “Earlier deal turns out to be no deal; Boehner delivers the bad news,” The Cincinnati Enquirer said.
• • Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who earlier was Goldman Sachs chairman. From Wall Street, the Journal reported the “largest failure in U.S. banking history” Thursday and the sale of Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase.

With conflict raging in Washington, a chorus of “Give Peace a Chance” went out in Tel Aviv, as Paul McCartney performed 43 years after the Beatles were banned from Israel. “Fab McCartney wows Israel,” The Jerusalem Post said.

As for tonight’s planned presidential debate, “Ole Miss stage prepared if McCain, Obama show up,” The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., said. Barack Obama said he would be there; John McCain said maybe. Asked the Los Angeles Times, “Who’d win in a one-man debate?”

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Bush’s ‘dire’ message tops news from presidential campaign

By John Maynard

There were some tough calls to be made last night in the nation's newsrooms. Lead with President Bush’s dreary address to the nation on the economic crisis or go with Sen. John McCain's call to delay Friday's debate with Sen. Barack Obama in light of the financial situation?

A scan of the front pages shows that most newspapers went with the Bush speech. "Our Entire Economy is in Danger," reads the headline in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Indianapolis Star and many others, quoting the president. (And with headlines like that, who needs coffee?)

It appears headline writers might have dug into their thesauruses last night to convey the news that things aren't good right now. Two popular words? "Dire" and "peril." "Bush makes dire appeal for fast bailout," reads the top of The Arizona Republic in Phoenix. The Tulsa (Okla.) World leads with "Bush warns of economic peril."

Meanwhile, the Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa) makes Bush's plea sound like an office memo from your cranky boss. "Bush: Enact Bailout ASAP." And the one headline that White House spin-meisters might put in their scrapbook is from the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, which declares "Bush's Talk Gets High Marks."

No doubt Mississippi will be plenty disappointed if tomorrow's debate is canceled. Its front pages reflect that gloom: "Debate or Bailout?" screams the headline of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, while The Commercial Appeal from neighboring Tennessee asks, "Debate on Hold?"

A few papers put the debate question in a term that any sports fan — or disciplining parent — can relate to. "Time Out?" asks the Stamford, Conn., Advocate. "Calling a Timeout," writes The Denver Post on McCain's announcement.

The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News manages to get both issues up front with the aesthetically pleasing, side-by-side headline that reads "Debate Or No Debate?" and "Bailout Or No Bailout?"

And we know that it's more than a month before Halloween, but we are really digging the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune headline on the economy that reads simply "Meltdown" in a ghoulish, green font that is a must-see.

John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

A hard sell on bailout; Congress not buying it

By Kate Kennedy

Although the Bush administration and Congress spent much of Tuesday talking about an economic bailout, it took front pages only a few words to sum up the day.

The Rocky Mountain News of Denver called the $700 billion rescue plan a “Hard sell,” while The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune described it as a “tough sell.”

As one editor noted, the word “bailout” dominated today’s pages.

“Bailout doubt,” pronounced The Sun of Baltimore, while The Hartford (Conn.) Courant declared, “Bailout backlash.”

“Congress not buying it,” the Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald said. “Bailout proposal runs into buzz saw,” the Houston Chronicle said.

That buzz saw was lawmakers’ interest in including oversight and limits on executive compensation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution pictured major players in the negotiations and said, “Bailout Face-Off.” The Plain Dealer of Cleveland broke out the sticking points. The Times-Republican in Marshalltown, Iowa, noted that in the disagreement, “Nobody is Happy.”

Some front pages noted dire predictions by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. “Pass bailout or face recession,” The Times of Shreveport, La., quoted Bernanke. Some reported an FBI investigation into four financial institutions, while others included Warren Buffett’s investment in ailing Goldman Sachs. And many front pages provided reaction from local congressional delegations. “Area lawmakers’ concerns about bailout unite some who are often on opposite sides of issues,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.

A few newspapers paired news from Capitol Hill with interesting sidebars. The Lexington Herald-Leader said, “Ky. delegation of one voice in ’99 / All voted to deregulate Wall Street.”

Tragedy in Finland: A student gunman killed 10 at a trade school northwest of Helsinki before killing himself. Iltalehti in Helsinki pictured a makeshift memorial, which also was shown on the front pages of Helsingborgs Dagblad and Dagens Nyheter in neighboring Sweden. The Daily Telegraph in London noted, “School gun killer quizzed over YouTube video.” Startling still images from his video appeared on a few front pages in Europe, including DAG of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Politika, of Belgrade, Serbia. El Periódico de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, printed a photo from the video with similar images from gunmen in earlier school shootings.

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Wall Street and Washington problems are Page One news around the world

By Gene Mater

The Wall Street problems and the delay in resolving such issues as oversight of the bailout are Page One stories here, there and everywhere.

The Wall Street Journal Asia, published in Hong Kong, leads with “Japanese suitors swoop in on U.S. investment banks,” while adding below, “Wall Street era comes to an end,” a reaction with echoes elsewhere.

The South China Morning Post, also published in Hong Kong, reports that a Japanese firm “snaps up Lehman’s Asia operation,” The Telegraph in Calcutta, India, tells its readers, “Era of banking high-rollers ends,” while DNA in Mumbai, India, notes the “Death of investment banking on Wall St.” even as Manila Standard Today in the Philippines says, “Goldman, Morgan: End of an era.”

In Europe, Die Presse in Vienna has a banner headline simply stating, “End of an era on Wall Street.” That is also noted in The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels with the lead “Goldman, Morgan moves end an era on Wall Street,” while reporting that that “Russian crisis may fuel wave of acquisitions.” In Paris, La Tribune pulls out some of its biggest type to lead with “Non, la crise n’est pas finie,” which sounds almost as bad in English — “No, the crisis is not finished.” Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin says that “America must help itself,” while Financial Times Deutschland in Hamburg leads with Wall Street burying an era. El Pais in Madrid leads with the end of the investment banking era in Wall Street.

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Today’s Zaman sees a rainbow with words from the prime minister believing that the “global crisis will bring opportunities for Turkey.”

In Sydney, Australia, the Financial Review plays up “US bail-out fuels relief rally” and The New Zealand Herald in Auckland agrees with its lead story “Big bailout puts shares on road to recovery.”

The Vancouver Sun in Canada tells U.S. neighbors to the north that “Washington and Wall Street complicit in financial crisis,” which we’ve read from time to time in the Lower 48.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

Nancy Maynard, Champion of Newsroom Diversity, Dies at 61

By John Maynard, Newseum exhibits writer

Nancy Hicks Maynard, a pioneering African-American reporter and former co-publisher of the Oakland Tribune who dedicated her career to diversifying the nation’s newsrooms, died Sept. 21 in Los Angeles.

Maynard, 61, served as co-publisher of the Oakland Tribune with her husband Robert C. Maynard from 1983 to 1992, making it the first major metropolitan daily to be black-owned. Under their leadership, the Tribune won a slew of journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography for the Tribune’s coverage of the 1989 San Francisco Bay Area earthquake.

Robert Maynard died of cancer in 1993, a year after he and his wife sold the newspaper.

In 1977, the Maynards founded the Oakland-based Institute for Journalism Education, now called the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, which was created to prepare minority journalists to work in newspapers across the nation.

"She was passionate about this country, democracy and making certain that every citizen has a voice in our future," said Maynard Institute chairman Mark Trahant, Freedom Forum trustee and editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "She loved exploring how those three thoughts come together with new media and technological innovation."

Maynard joined the New York Post as a 20-year-old reporter in 1966 but left just two years later when the paper would not allow her to cover a labor strike by garbage workers in Memphis. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was in Memphis to speak at a rally for the garbage workers, was assassinated during that visit.

It was the "lone low point of my career," Maynard said in a 2001 interview.

In 1968, she was hired by The New York Times and made history as the paper’s first black female reporter on the metropolitan staff. She also was the youngest reporter at the Times.

While at the Times, Maynard covered Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral, campus takeovers at Columbia and Cornell, the Apollo space missions, Watergate and Title IX. She married Robert Maynard, who was then with The Washington Post, in 1975 just as she was transitioning to the Times’s Washington bureau.

Both resigned from their newspapers to start the institute in 1977. She later was chair of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in New York City.

"Nancy Hicks Maynard brought inspiration and insight to the early days of the march for diversity," said former USA Today editor John C. Quinn, founder of the Freedom Forum’s Chips Quinn Scholars program and an early supporter of the Maynard Institute. "She was a true guiding light."

Read more about Robert C. and Nancy Hicks Maynard in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

First School of Journalism Turns 100

By Emily Hedges, Newseum assistant editor

On Sept. 14, 1908, journalist Walter Williams began a new experiment — opening the world’s first college of journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Other universities followed suit. Indiana University established a journalism department in 1911; Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, endowed the journalism school that opened at New York’s Columbia University in 1912. By the 1920s, many other schools had added journalism curricula.

Before 1908, journalism was a learned-on-the-job trade. Many reporters started as copy boys and worked their way up. Some editors, most famously 19th-century New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, refused to hire university graduates because they were too hard to mold, according to Betty Winfield, editor of "Journalism, 1908: Birth of a Profession."

"Most journalism before 1900 was pretty dreadful," says Steve Weinberg, author of "A Journalism of Humanity: A Candid History of the World’s First Journalism School." "Journalism often was inaccurate and partisan."

In the early years, the debate raged: Was journalism a trade or an educated profession? The Progressive Era of the early 20th century brought a desire to professionalize and reform in many areas, including journalism. And the creation of the first journalism school solidified journalism’s place as a serious profession.

Missouri’s first female journalism graduate, Mary Gentry Paxton Keeley, received her degree in 1910. In 1921, the school’s first master’s degree in journalism was awarded to Maurice Votaw. Many well-known journalists have graduated from Missouri’s journalism school, including Jim Lehrer of PBS’s The News Hour With Jim Lehrer, ABC news anchor Elizabeth Vargas, USA Today editor Ken Paulson and CBS news anchor Russ Mitchell.

Although much has changed in the last century — such as the addition of courses in photojournalism, radio, television and new media — some of the courses offered 100 years ago sound much like classes still taught in journalism schools today. According to Winfield, the course catalog included classes in history and principles, press jurisprudence, illustration, news gathering and newspaper publishing.

Williams went on to write the famous Journalist’s Creed, which is still relevant to journalists today. The final paragraph reads:

"I believe that the journalism which succeeds best — and best deserves success — fears God and honors Man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance, and, as far as law and honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world."

The story about the first school of journalism is featured in the News Corporation News History Gallery.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Proposed solution to financial crisis rates Page One attention all over

By Gene Mater

The bailout of U.S. financial institutions, as proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., coupled with congressional Democrats coming up with their own terms to end the crisis, is Page One news for dailies across the country. Indeed, we thought that we would check some of the smaller newspapers in our exhibit.

The Dothan Eagle in Alabama focused on the congressional problems with headlines noting “Complicating the bailout” and “Paulson resists calls from Democrats to add more help for households,” The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, Calif., reports in its off-lead “Tax funds flashpoint in bailout debate,” the Fort Collins Coloradoan, noting time being critical, squares off “Fed urges quick action,” while the Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla., leads with “Paulson: No delay on bailout.”

Moving to middle America, the Journal Star in Peoria, Ill., and the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, along with The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, play up the need for “quick” or “fast” action. The St. Cloud Times in Minnesota banners “Fed OKs banks’ status change,” noting that “Finance giants now able to create new financial entities.” The Courier in Findlay, Ohio, leads with “Quick action urged on $700 billion bailout plan.”

In New England, the Cape Cod Times in Hyannis, Mass., tells us, “‘Mother of all bailouts’ pushed,” while the Bangor Daily News in Maine uses a quiet “Paulson pushes $700B bailout” headline.

It’s much the same no matter where you go.

In Texas, the Killeen Daily Herald also runs with “Mother of all handouts,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in Montana has as its off-lead “Paulson urges quick action on bailout,” while The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M., has Paulson at the bottom of the page while playing up the local situation with “City set for financial crisis.” The Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash., pins the financial crisis to the election with “Campaigns scramble for economic advice,” The Daily Progress in Thomas Jefferson’s preferred city of Charlottesville, Va., reports on Paulson’s push for urgent action, as does the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in upstate New York. In Pennsylvania, the Erie Times-News uses a word one doesn’t see that often, leading with “Haste urged on debt bailout.”

There are other stories today, but nothing really tops the financial crisis, the proposed solution and the counter-proposals.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.

"Good Morning America" Broadcast Live From the Newseum

"Good Morning America" anchors Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts ended their seven-state whistle-stop tour with a live broadcast at the Newseum Sept. 19, 2008.

Photo Slideshow: On the Scene at the Newseum with Jennifer Hudson and "GMA"

More Video: Jennifer Hudson, "GMA" Spend Morning at the Newseum

On the Scene at the Newseum with Jennifer Hudson and "GMA"

Video: Jennifer Hudson, "GMA" Spend Morning at the Newseum

Video: "Good Morning America" Broadcast Live From the Newseum

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Biggest bailout yet gets biggest headline

By Kate Kennedy

“You need to go no farther than your morning newspaper,” Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut told Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer today at the Newseum when discussing the gravity of the planned government rescue of banks.

From Boston and Philadelphia to Portland and Los Angeles, the proposed intervention by the federal government to shore up the country’s financial woes was today’s lead headline.

“Citing Grave Financial Threats, Officials Ready Massive Rescue,” The Washington Post said. “Treasury says it eyes options for protection from bad debts,” The Philadelphia Inquirer said in a three-story package. The Boston Globe called the proposal “A plan to stop the bleeding.”

The Seattle Times asked: “Biggest bailout ever?” Newsday on Long Island described it as “The Bailout to End All Bailouts.”

The Los Angeles Times analyzed the proposed solution to the financial crisis and asked, “Is a relief agency the right answer?” The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune used an illustration to explain the “Economic balancing act.”

Reaction to the plan was a “Crazy day on Wall Street,” The Cincinnati Enquirer said, noting a 410-point gain in the Dow. The Oregonian of Portland said, “Wall Street bounces back as officials consider relieving lenders of bad mortgages in what would be the biggest U.S. bailout yet.”

A year later: An aerial view of the new Mississippi River bridge was pictured above the nameplate of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. It’s been about a year since the old I-35W bridge collapsed, prompting nationwide concerns about infrastructure.

Moving on, moving in: The Detroit News divided its page in half vertically to report on the last day of a mayor “brought down by scandal” and the first day of the city’s new leader.

Waiting, wondering: Six days after Hurricane Ike hit Texas, residents in Galveston and Houston remain “uncertain, frustrated trying to put lives back in order,” the Galveston County Daily News said. The newspaper, which has served its readers despite struggles, said in a front-page note that home delivery is returning. The Houston Chronicle promoted four online chats about dealing with the storm aftermath. Its centerpiece story focused on cleaning up: “Have chain saw, will work.”

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Jennifer Hudson, "GMA" Spend Morning at the Newseum

WASHINGTON — Fans of "Good Morning America" and singer Jennifer Hudson received a double treat Sept. 19, 2008, when "GMA" anchors Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion and Oscar-winner Hudson appeared live at the Newseum.

More than 600 fans waited in line at the Newseum’s C Street group entrance to receive complimentary tickets to the show. The program featured behind-the-scenes tours of many of the Newseum’s galleries and exhibits. The 90-foot-high New York Times—Ochs–Sulzberger Great Hall of News was the dramatic setting for Hudson’s concert.

Hudson sang two songs: "Spotlight," from her new album, and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," the showstopper from the movie "Dreamgirls," for which she won the Academy Award.

The "GMA Whistle-Stop Tour" kicked off Sept. 15 with "GMA" anchors traveling aboard a specially equipped antique train from New York through seven states over five days. Live broadcasts in four states and the District of Columbia also featured concerts by James Taylor in Massachusetts and Brad Paisley in Ohio.

The Whistle-Stop Tour is part of a "50 States in 50 Days" joint initiative by ABC News and USA Today to report from every state in the nation during the 50 days leading up to the presidential election.

Plan your visit and buy your tickets to the Newseum today. For more information on the "50 States" initiative, visit ABCNews.com.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Red ink and a stressed-out broker

By Patty Rhule

An Associated Press photo of stressed-out New York Stock Exchange trader Christopher Crotty told the story of Wednesday’s financial crisis for newspapers across the country.

“What a mess,” said the Los Angeles Daily News, with a powerful package that laid out in words and images what the news meant to homeowners and investors. “Prices plummet to record levels throughout Southern California, with foreclosures accounting for almost half the sales.”

“And you thought Monday was bad,” The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune said of the second-biggest drop in the Dow since Sept. 11, 2001. Both of the drops occurred this week.

“New lows usher in new era,” said The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, with a package of charts and graphs on the bad news’s ripple effects — from the rising price of gold to how many Americans will be able to afford retirement.

The San Diego Union-Tribune was more animated. “RUNNING SCARED,” said the banner headline, with the pullout quote, “It’s like having a fire in a cinema. Everybody is rushing to the door.”

Looking for a bright spot, The Washington Times quoted former presidential candidate (and millionaire) Steve Forbes as saying that the “Crisis Could ‘Quickly Pass.’”

“Wall Street Wallows in Financial Quagmire,” said The Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s Sun Sentinel had an innovative if unnerving front page with lots of jagged red ink to reflect the Dow’s decline and three ominous headlines at the top of the page: “Lockdown drama in Boca,” “We’re the front line in AIDS war” and “Ike victims might have washed out to sea.” That’s before you even get to “Crisis on Wall Street: The Dow’s wild ride.”

The Idaho Statesman in Boise warned that “Highway projects could fall victim to tough times.” The Chicago Sun-Times said the stock market turmoil, gas prices and losses by the Cubs and Sox added up to one big “STRESS FEST.”

Outside the world of finance, the Detroit Free Press scored the first interview with Elizabeth Edwards since her husband, John, confessed to having an affair: “Former political wife is Mom first.”

prhule@newseum.org Patty Rhule is a project editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

Insurer AIG makes national headlines with historic bailout

By Kate Kennedy

The federal government took control of insurer AIG late Tuesday in a move that generated top headlines across the U.S.

In its lead story, The Washington Post noted American Insurance Group’s ties to subprime home mortgages. The move by the Feds, the newspaper said, “effectively nationalizes one of the central institutions in the crisis that has swept through markets this month.”

As to why the government took action, The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Fed sought to avert a global financial crisis.” “Emergency loan intended to stave off wider economic collapse,” The Arizona Republic in Phoenix said.

In a reference to recent bailouts of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Chicago Tribune said, “Fed rides to rescue yet again.”

Word came after the evening news in the East, giving front pages an advantage in reporting the action. The New York Times illustrated “A.I.G.’s Troubles and Why They Matter.” The Hartford (Conn.) Courant broke out the terms of the bailout. With AIG less than a household name, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland answered the question, “What is AIG?” (“It’s the largest insurance company in the world.”)

The Providence (R.I.) Journal localized the story by reporting on a “State SWAT team formed to protect $130 million with AIG.” The Honolulu Advertiser said, “Rescue loan eases fears of Hawai’i units, for now.” From Delaware, The News Journal of Wilmington did a staff-written story and broke out the number of AIG employees and subsidiaries incorporated in its state.

The Wall Street Journal noted the “Historic Move Would Cap 10 Days That Reshaped U.S. Finance.”

Besides reporting the $85-billion AIG bailout, the Los Angeles Times bulleted daily economic developments, including a slight stock market rebound and a Federal Reserve decision not to lower interest rates. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., offered “Three reasons to feel good about yesterday …” “And three reasons to not feel so good…”

Stripped across the bottom of The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post was a primer on the financial crisis and “How we got here.”

kkennedy@freedomforum.org Kate Kennedy is front-pages editor at the Newseum.

Today's Front Pages Analysis

U.S. stock market, economic problems make headlines worldwide

By Gene Mater

The Washington Times banners “A nightmare on Wall Street” and then offers a small listing of the “Global Meltdown,” showing how what happened in the U.S. affects markets elsewhere because it’s more than an American story. And indeed that’s true, affecting markets around the world.

The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong tells its readers that “Meltdown in US spooks markets,” The Telegraph in Calcutta, India, leads with “Belly Up,” adding “Lehman goes bankrupt, Merrill in distress sale, Tata (an Indian company) ally AIG seeks cash,” DNA in Mumbai, India, warns that “Failing US banks trigger crisis,” The Jakarta Post in Indonesia reports “Stock markets plunge as U.S. titans collapse” and the Manila Standard Today in the Philippines says, “Wall St. in ‘tectonic’ shift as Merrill, Lehman fall.” The Australian Financial Review in Sydney has a banner proclaiming “Bloodbath for Wall Street banks,” and The Age in Melbourne leads with “Gloom spreads as US financial giant collapses.”

In another part of the world, The Jerusalem Post in Israel leads with “Credit crisis topples US financial icon,” Today’s Zaman in Istanbul says, “Turkey alarmed by Lehman fallout,” and Gulf News in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, plays up “Lehman bankruptcy sparks market chaos.”

In Europe, La Tribune in Paris banners an Alan Greenspan quote: “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Die Welt in Berlin reports a “Black day for the banks,” the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt in postage stamp-sized Liechtenstein headlines its story “Black Monday,” while The Daily Telegraph in London prefers “Meltdown Monday” and The Guardian in London calls it “Nightmare on Wall Street.” The European edition of Stars and Stripes, published in Griesheim, Germany, for American servicemen abroad, reports “Financial breakdown,” with the drop head “Collapse of 2 Wall Street firms sends markets tumbling around the world,” adding brief comments from the two candidates for president. The International Herald Tribune in Paris accurately notes in its lead headline that “Crisis rattles markets and nerves.”

Looking at our South American neighbors, El Pais in Montevideo, Uruguay, reports that “The earthquake in Wall Street shoots the dollar,” while Perú.21 in Lima has a big “Black Monday” over a graph-type arrow heading way down. Wall Street is big news today.

Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.