The Newseum opened on Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday to much fanfare, more than 10,000 visitors, and a benediction of sorts from Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. Roberts spoke after a parade of other luminaries, ranging from Nancy Pelosi to Rupert Murdoch, who praised the museum dedicated to news and to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
Noting that the facade of the museum features a huge rendition of the text of the First Amendment, Roberts said, "This inscription ... does not proclaim a mission, an agenda, a perspective, a belief." Instead, he said, it proclaims that everyone has the freedom "to choose our own inscription and proclaim it to the world."
Roberts quoted the late First Amendment historian and scholar Zechariah Chaffee, who once described the press as "a sort of wild animal in our midst." As long as the press remains faithful to its mission to report the facts, Roberts continued, "a museum dedicated to journalism will deserve its place here in the heart of our capital city — no matter how much, from time to time, it acts like an animal in our midst." Video of the ceremony is archived on C-SPAN.
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