Photo by ‘ Toshio ‘.

Is the Newseum a financial drain? Yes, and it’s an enormous one, according to this incredibly exhaustive post by Jim Hopkins, a former reporter and editor at USA Today who now runs the independent Gannett Blog. The post has more details than you’d ever want regarding the incredibly high costs incurred by the Freedom Forum, a journalism foundation, in the building and operation of the Newseum.

Now, newly released public documents reveal the untold story. Annual spending by Freedom Forum and the museum has skyrocketed, contributing to $224 million in foundation overspending during 2007-2009 alone, further weakening its crucial income-producing endowment.

The museum is the culprit. In 2007, a year before unveiling a $450 million expansion that cost nearly twice initial projections, the Newseum’s operating costs totaled $36 million — an average of $99,000 a day. In 2009, they soared to $92 million, or $250,000 a day, the documents show.

Hopkins notes that the 250,000-square-foot (a dollar per square foot per day!) museum “may have other financial resources to tap, including potentially millions in outstanding donations, plus a smaller endowment held by the museum itself worth $27 million at the end of 2009.” But Hopkins’ comprehensive reportage does raise questions regarding how long the museum will be able to serve its purpose, citing a recent exhibit of Elvis Presley’s personal belongings as proof that the curators have already started needing to reach out to a wider audience. Of course, the Newseum probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon — but it’s obvious that all is not well inside the museum’s books.