The gift is the largest received to date by the Newseum. In the last year, the Newseum has announced a total of $79 million in gifts from 11 media organizations, foundations and families, including the Annenberg Foundation, in support of the new Newseum.

“This very generous gift continues the tradition of the Annenberg Foundation supporting the advancement of a free press and better journalism,” said Newseum CEO Charles L. Overby. “The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater will be one of the most used and talked-about venues in the Newseum.”

The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater is the largest of 15 theaters in the new Newseum and will offer a flexible presentation space, capable of seating 535 visitors for public programs, film screenings, debates, artistic performances and town-hall gatherings. In its primary daytime configuration, the Annenberg Theater will present a customized, high-tech, four-dimensional interactive time travel that transports visitors to great news events of history in a “you-are-there” experience combining museum-quality content with theme-park excitement.

Artist's rendering of the Newseum's Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater (Credit: Cortina Productions)

“My husband, Walter, dedicated his life as a publisher, broadcaster, diplomat and philanthropist to communication, education and public service,” said Leonore Annenberg, president and chairman of the Annenberg Foundation. “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.”

The Annenberg Foundation joins a consortium of Newseum founding partners that includes The New York Times – Ochs-Sulzberger Family; News Corporation; the Greenspun Family; Cox Enterprises; Hearst Corporation; ABC News; NBC News; the Pulliam Family; Robert H. and Clarice Smith; and Time Warner.

The Newseum in Washington, D.C., was made possible by a commitment of $450 million from the Freedom Forum, including $100 million to purchase the land at Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, NW.  The Newseum's grand opening date will be announced this fall.

About the Annenberg Foundation
The Annenberg Foundation is the successor corporation to the Annenberg School at Radnor, Penn., established in 1958 by Walter H. Annenberg. It exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving its goal, the foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.

The Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally through its headquarters in Radnor, Penn., and offices in Los Angeles, Calif. Its major program areas are education and youth development; arts and culture; civic, community and the environment; and health and human services. In addition, the foundation operates a number of initiatives which expand and complement these program areas.

Walter H. Annenberg (1908-2002) enjoyed a distinguished career as a publisher, broadcaster, diplomat and philanthropist. He was publisher and editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, founder of TV Guide and Seventeen magazines, and ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, Great Britain, from 1969 to 1974.

Leonore Annenberg is president and chairman of the Annenberg Foundation. She was chief of protocol for the United States during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Since 1993, she has served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and serves or has served on the boards of many arts organizations across the nation.

About the Newseum
When it opens Oct. 15, the Newseum — a 250,000-square-foot museum of news — will offer visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

The Newseum will be located between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. The exterior’s unique architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by will be able to watch the museum fulfilling its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other.

The Newseum will feature seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. It will offer a unique environment that takes museum-goers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made.

About the Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum, based in Arlington, Va., is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, the First Amendment and newsroom diversity.

The Freedom Forum in the main funder of the operations of the Newseum, an interactive museum of news opening in October in Washington, D.C.; the First Amendment Center; and the Diversity Institute. The First Amendment Center and the Diversity Institute are housed in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. The First Amendment Center also has offices in Arlington and the Diversity Institute has offices and programs at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The Freedom Forum was established in 1991 under the direction of Founder Al Neuharth as successor to a foundation started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Frank E. Gannett. The Freedom Forum is not affiliated with Gannett Co. Its work is supported by income from an endowment of diversified assets.

An artist's rendering of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater, as well as other Newseum images, is available for download.

                                                                              # # #