VIENNA, VA (AP).- Max C. Page, a top executive at the Newseum and a former broadcast journalist, has died.

Page oversaw design and construction of the journalism museum's new building in downtown Washington. He died on Sept. 15, his 60th birthday, at his home in Vienna, Va. He suffered a heart attack.

Page was a deputy director and vice president of the Newseum. He joined the Freedom Forum, the Newseum's major financial backer, in 1992.

Before that, Page worked for Gannett Co. in its television operations. He was also a broadcast executive for WXIA-TV in Atlanta, WNEP-TV in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and WFAA-TV in Dallas.

The museum says Page is survived by his wife of 37 years, Katy, three daughters and a grandson.

For 17 years, Page assisted in the management of the Newseum and its staff. During the building phase of the new Newseum, which opened in Washington, D.C., in April 2008, Page headed up the day-to-day management of design and construction.

"The Newseum is Max’s monument," said Charles L. Overby, chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum, Newseum and Diversity Institute. "He was the overseer of this very complex project and knew the nooks and crannies of our building better than anybody else. He brought the tenaciousness of a reporter and the sharp eye of an editor to the project. We will miss Max, but his work will be seen and appreciated for many years to come."

Page, a native of Wichita, Kan., began his career at the Freedom Forum — the major funder of the operations of the Newseum — in 1992 as executive producer in the broadcasting department. He played a major role in the development of the 126-foot-long Video News Wall in the original Newseum.

Before joining the Freedom Forum, Page spent several years at Gannett Co. Inc. as an executive producer for Gannett Television and a bureau chief and news director of Gannett News Service Television. He also was a broadcast executive for WXIA-TV in Atlanta, WNEP-TV in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and WFAA-TV in Dallas.

"Max went about his work and his life with a terse resolve to do right and do well. And he succeeded," said Joe Urschel, Newseum executive director and senior vice president. "Never one to seek glory or praise, he was always quick to lavish it on others. We will all miss his no-nonsense style and his unyielding sense of humor."