Jeffrey Herbst resigned Monday as CEO of the Newseum in Washington as the board considers selling the 250,000 sq. ft. Pennsylvania Ave. facility, putting the future of the hard-pressed institution dedicated to freedom of the press in doubt.
As primary funder, the Gannett Foundation pumped about $500M into the Newseum during the past 20 years.
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That level of funding is no longer sustainable, according to Jan Neuharth, CEO of the renamed Freedom Forum.
“Left unchecked, this deficit spending rate would eventually drain the Freedom Forum’s entire endowment, and the annual cash drain prevents us from allocating any new capital to First Amendment programs that are at the heart of our educational mission,” Neuharth said in a statement.
The FF has assets of $804M, according to 2015 tax records. The Washington Post reports the Newseum building was appraised at $667M in 2014.
The Newseum’s board is also looking at joint venture opportunities and the partial divestiture of part of building, which includes apartments, conference center, restaurant and parking garages, as an alternative to the sale of the entire facility.
Opened in Arlington in 1997, the Newseum moved into its current glass building in 2008.
Neuharth, Newseum board member Peter Prichard and COO Scott Williams will assume Herbst’s duties.
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