Interactive Newseum to open doors Friday

The $450 million Newseum, “the most technologically advanced and most interactive museum in the world,” is an ambitious effort to imbue the public with a sense of awe and appreciation for the role of a vigorous free press, museumofficials said Tuesday.

“We did not build this museum for journalists — we built it for the 20 million people who visit Washington every year,” Newseum CEO Charles Overby said as he gave reporters a sneak peek at the facility that will open Friday. “They come to visit the monuments to freedom and democracy, and we believe that the press belongs in that pilgrimage.”