In my illustrious career in news (and I use that term loosely), I’ve helped cover the devastating Iowa floods of ’93, the McCaughey Septuplets and, of course, 9/11.  I’ve also covered the red carpet premiere of Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” … but that’s another story.  

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit DC’s unbelievably user-friendly “Newseum”.  It’s a high-tech, interactive look at all the things that shaped (and continue to shape) the landscape of news.   And, for me, it was like the mother ship had called me home. 

The first thing you notice when you walk in to the muse – er, Newseum is the enormity of the place.  It’s simply breathtaking.  From the world’s largest high-definition TV (which weights 4+ tons) to the six stories of displays, it is a feast for the eyes.

One of the sections I found particularly appealing was defining the history of news.  Every groundbreaking moment, every earth-shattering news event was there in black and white.  From The Titanic to JFK’s assassination to the Challenger explosion, there was a front page of a newspaper detailing the day’s events.  One of the representatives stopped me and asked if I had any questions.  I said, “Yeah, where do I start?  I’m going in to visual overload!”  She said, “We get that a lot around here.”

On the first floor, staring you in the face, are several slabs of the graffiti-encrusted Berlin Wall.  Behind that is the original Checkpoint Charlie.  Walk around and you can read about the history of the wall and how it sliced a country in half.  

Every floor at the Newseum gives you a little more bang for your buck.  There is a display of over 75 local newspapers giving you the day’s headlines.  There’s the set of where George Stephanopoulos hosts “ABC This Week”.  And there’s an actual news helicopter hanging from the rafters.

Even though there were 500+ school kids milling around me at any given time, I was insanely focused on soaking it all in.   There’s a special wing dedicated to 9/11 where visitors get an almost minute-by-minute account of the horrific attack.  And in the middle of the display are the remnants of a twisted TV antenna that was perched atop Tower 1.

Seems former President Bill Clinton toured the Newseum on Monday.  I gleaned that because workers will still talking about their brush with greatness.  The Newseum has a long laundry list of famous visitors … a who’s-who of media types and celebrity darlings.

It came as quite a shock to see all the journalists who had been killed in the line of duty over the last 100+ years.  I had just rented the movie “Veronica Guerin” the week before – and she was prominently displayed alongside Daniel Pearl.   The display to the fallen journalists was almost as heart wrenching as the 9/11 exhibit.

If you get a chance, GO to the Newseum.  I don’t think newspapers will be around much longer – but their sanctity will be firmly preserved in this mammoth memorial to all things media related.