Shenandoah University Alumnus Eddie Munden is Technical Manager at Newseum, Reopening in Washington Today

WINCHESTER, Va., April 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shenandoah University alumnus Eddie Munden is manager of technical operations at the Newseum (http://www.newseum.com) -- the world's only interactive museum about news and journalism -- reopening today in a new building in Washington.

Munden oversees the design and programming of interactive exhibits as well as network systems that pass through the museum's master control room. He also routes and records incoming video, facilitates out-bound broadcast video and creates pre-produced video displays for a 90-foot big-screen theater as well as a 40-by-20 foot high-definition atrium screen. Munden also supervises the Newseum's large-format print shop.

The Newseum closed its Arlington, Va., location in 2002 to erect a larger building. The new 250,000-square-foot facility blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

"Beginning at 5 a.m. each morning, we process, print and display over 150 front pages sent to us from newspapers around the world for our front-page display," Munden said. "We also post over 600 daily, front-page files at the 'Today's Front Pages' Web site."

"I watched the new facility rise up out of the ground along Pennsylvania Avenue," said Munden. "Over the last few months, I watched as the scaffolding came down, the dust settled and the place was cleaned and polished. I saw the systems connected and all the exhibits, theaters and broadcast studios come to life.

"Seeing people's reaction when they first walk in is the best part of my job. There is a tremendous 'wow' factor."

Munden received a 2001 "Best Achievement" International Monitor Award from The Association of Imaging Technology and Sound as associate producer on the Newseum's "Holocaust: The Untold Story" documentary.

The 1996 Shenandoah University graduate joined the Newseum when it opened in Arlington in 1997. The mass communication major said he credits Shenandoah University for landing him on the career path that led to his current position by "giving me the necessary technical skills as well as instilling in me a passion for news and the First Amendment - exactly what the Newseum strives to promote."

Munden photo available upon request.

The Newseum is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., in Washington. The exterior's architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment. The interior features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. For more information, visit www.newseum.org.

Shenandoah University is a comprehensive Level VI private university with an enrollment of more than 3,000 students in six schools: College of Arts & Sciences, Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business, Shenandoah Conservatory, Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, the School of Health Professions (Athletic Training, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy and Respiratory Care) and the School of Education & Human Development. The university offers more than 80 programs of study at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. For further information, contact the Public Relations Office at (540) 665-4510 or visit www.su.edu.

CONTACT: Donna Hart of Shenandoah University, +1-540-665-5514, +1-540-888-3171, dhart@su.edu