The Newseum, one of the preeminent institutions dedicated to journalism in America, is relocating from its home in Washington after suffering significant losses in recent years.
The Freedom Forum, the private foundation that established the Newseum and finances it, announced on Friday the sale of the glass-and-steel building to the Johns Hopkins Foundation for $372.5m.
Positioned down the street from the US Capitol, the monument to the first amendment has been a reliable presence for tourists and passersby since 2008. It had previously been housed in the more modest surroundings of Rosslyn, Virginia.
“This was a difficult decision, but it was the responsible one,” Jan Neuharth, the Freedom Forum’s chair and chief executive, said in a statement. “We remain committed to continuing our programs – in a financially sustainable way – to champion the five freedoms of the first amendment and to increase public awareness about the importance of a free and fair press.”
Neuharth added that the group would “explore all options” to find a new location in the Washington area.
The Baltimore-based university Johns Hopkins will meanwhile expand its presence in the US capital.
The Newseum’s financial troubles have been widely reported, with talk of a possible sale first being made public a year ago in light of stagnant fundraising and significant debt.
The announcement of its pending closure at its current location capped off a grim week in US journalism, with widespread layoffs at several media organizations, including Gannett, HuffPost and BuzzFeed.
The Newseum is one of the few museums in the US dedicated exclusively to journalism and the first amendment. Unlike most of Washington’s museums, which as government-funded facilities are free of charge, the privately owned Newseum charged an entrance fee of nearly $25 per person. The museum incurred a substantial loss in 2016, according to the Washington Post, spending $8.2m more than the $55.7m in revenue it generated.
